Free school meals and clothing grant

If you have school-age children and are on a low income, you may be entitled to financial support with:

• school meals
• school clothes and footwear

In this guide, we explain:

• what this support involves
• the eligibility criteria
• how you can apply

In council-run schools, all children in these years can get free school meals. You do not need to apply for this.

If your child is not getting free school meals, please contact us.

Holiday payments for children in P1 to P5

In some cases, we can also pay the cash value of your child's school meals into your bank account during the school holidays. You can get these payments if you meet the eligibility criteria.

You must submit an application if you want to receive these payments.

You can apply for free school meals for your child, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. You can do this at any point during the school year.

If your application is successful, we'll:

• ensure your child receives free school meals during term time
• transfer the cash value of your child's school meals into your bank account during school holidays

If you're on a low income, you might be entitled to a payment towards your child's clothing and footwear costs. This will depend on whether you meet the eligibility criteria.

Your child can get free school meals and a grant for clothing and footwear if you receive:

• Universal Credit — where you earn less than £726 a month
• Income Support
• Job Seeker's Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, and you earn less than £18,725
• both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, and you have an income of up to £8,717

Your child is entitled to a clothing and footwear grant, but not free school meals, if (both apply):

• you receive Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit
• your income is between £8,717 and £18,725 a year

Upper age limits

Free school meals

A child who’s 16 to 18 can still get free school meals, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria.

Clothing and footwear grant

A child cannot get a clothing and footwear grant if they:

• are already 16 or over
• will turn 16 on or before 30 September 2023

However, if they cannot get a clothing grant because of their age, they might be eligible for Education Maintenance Allowance. You can find out more about this support, including when applications will open, on our Education Maintenance Allowance page.

In some circumstances, you can ask for 4 weeks of flexible free school meals. You can do this if any of these apply:

• you’re entitled to Universal Credit but are waiting for payments to start
• you do not yet have the documents you need to send us a free school meals application
• your family circumstances have changed

If you think you're eligible for these flexible meals, contact your child’s school or nursery and ask them to apply on your behalf.