School Clothing Grant and Education Costs for Kinship Carers in Scotland

School Clothing Grants: Eligibility and Applications

Every Scottish local authority provides a school clothing grant to help low-income families cover uniform and PE kit costs. The Scottish Government sets minimum statutory amounts — £120 for primary school and £150 for secondary school — and councils set their own rates, which may be higher.

The grant is for low-income families, and councils set their own application process. Check with your council's education department which benefits qualify and whether you need to apply; don't assume the grant will be paid automatically.

If a child joins your household during the school year, ask your council whether you can apply at that point and what evidence it needs.

Free School Meals

Scotland's free school meals provision is among the most generous in the UK:

Universal free meals (no application needed):

• All pupils in Primary 1 through Primary 5 get free school meals regardless of your income. No form to fill in — the school provides them automatically.

Means-tested free meals (you need to apply):

• Pupils in Primary 6, Primary 7, and all secondary years qualify if you receive a qualifying benefit. The key income threshold for Universal Credit claimants: your net monthly earned income must be below £995.

For kinship carers, here's what counts and what doesn't when assessing that £995 threshold:

• Your council kinship care allowance is not counted as income (it's disregarded under UC rules)
• Scottish Child Payment is not counted
• Child Benefit is not counted
• Only earned income from employment counts

Most kinship carers who aren't working full-time easily fall below the threshold. Apply through your council or, in some areas, directly through the school.

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

If the young person in your care is 16 to 19 and staying in school or attending college, ask their school or college about applying for EMA and the current payment rate and household-income rules.

Ask the school or college how the household-income rules apply to your circumstances, including any kinship care allowance.

The young person applies through their school or college.

Funded Early Learning and Childcare (1,140 Hours)

Children aged 2, 3, and 4 in kinship care — whether looked after or under a Section 11 Kinship Care Order — are entitled to 1,140 hours per year of fully funded early learning and childcare. That's roughly 30 hours per week during term time, or a spread pattern across the year.

This is a specific entitlement for kinship and looked-after children. While all 3- and 4-year-olds in Scotland get funded hours, 2-year-olds only qualify if they meet certain criteria — and living with a kinship carer is one of the qualifying conditions.

Contact your council's early years team to register for a funded place. You'll need to provide evidence of the kinship arrangement (a social work letter or court order is usually sufficient).

Other Education-Related Support

A few less well-known grants and entitlements that kinship carers can access:

• School trip and activity funds — most schools have hardship funds for pupils from low-income families. Ask the head teacher or school office rather than letting the child miss out.
• Free instrumental music tuition — several Scottish councils have removed charges for music tuition for pupils receiving free school meals.
• Digital device schemes — some councils provide laptops or tablets to children in kinship care. Check with your council's education department.

How These Fit With Your Kinship Finances

Education costs add up faster than most new kinship carers expect — uniforms, PE kit, school shoes, trips, after-school activities. These grants and entitlements exist specifically so children in kinship care don't miss out. Our Scotland Kinship Financial Help Guide includes the full list of education and welfare grants alongside the main kinship payments, so you can see everything available in one place and track what you've applied for.

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