Free School Meals
A free school meal is a school lunch we provide free of charge to:
- All children in primary 1 to 5
- Children from families on a low income
- Children in primary 6 to 7 if the parent/carer receives the Scottish Child Payment
Children in P1 to P5: universal free school meals
All children in primary 1 to 5 get free school meals during term time regardless of their family's financial circumstances. These are called universal free school meals. You don't have to apply for them, your child will get them automatically.
Families on a low income
In addition to the universal free school meals, children from low-income families can get the following if they qualify:
Free school meals after primary 5
Payments during school holidays in P1 to S6
School clothing grant (we will award this automatically if you qualify for free school meals based on your income)
To be eligible, parents or carers, or the child if they are between 16 and 18 years old, must receive a qualifying benefit (you must provide evidence of your entitlement):
- Income Support (IS)
- Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit with a monthly take home pay of less than £850
Families who receive Scottish Child Payment
If you don't meet the conditions for families on a low income, you can still apply for free school meals if you:
- Get the Scottish Child Payment
- Have a child in primary 6 or 7
This is due to changes in Scottish Government legislation.
Please note this is for free school meals only and not holiday payments or the clothing grant.
School Clothing Grant
This form is for applications for the 2025/2026 session, applications for the 2024/2025 session have now closed.
You can apply for a school clothing grant once per child in any financial year i.e. between 1 April and 31 March.
The current grant is £120 for primary school pupils and £150 for secondary school pupils. For pupils of statutory school age the grant must be applied for by the parents and is paid to parents. For pupils over statutory school age (16 years old) the grant must be applied for by the student and is paid to the student.
Pupils will be eligible for a school clothing grant if they attend an Aberdeen City Council school, and their parents/carers are in receipt of any one of the following (please note you will be required to upload proof of receipt):
- Income Support.
- Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA).
- Any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
- Universal Credit and your monthly earned income is not more than £850.
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
- Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reductions.
Please note, you can only apply for children currently attending school or about to enter Primary 1. If you are an eligible student who receives an Education Maintenance Allowance, you can apply for a school clothing grant for yourself.
Applications for session 2025/2026 can be made from 1 April 2025 and will be paid from the beginning of May 2025.
You can apply for a school clothing grant online. Before you apply online, you will need to set up an account. This is so you can track the progress of your application.
Apply for free school meals and School Clothing Grant
You can apply for free school meals online. You will need to provide evidence of the benefit/s that you receive.
You must provide evidence of the qualifying benefit each year in April. If you stop claiming the benefits you must notify the school. If you receive a free school meal to which you are not entitled, you may be asked to pay the money back.
All families currently receiving free school meals, who were awarded the benefit before 1st April 2024, must complete a new application for free school meals, to renew their entitlement and update their details.
For more information, please see the frequently asked questions below.