Free school meals
10th January 2022
From January 2022 all children in primary 1 to primary 5 can get free school meals in local authority schools in Scotland.
This is sometimes called 'universal free school meals'. This is because all children in these years can get free school meals, their family’s financial situation doesn’t matter.
This is different from free school meals because of a family’s income. It’s really important that eligible children register with their local authority for free school meals because of income. This means that they will get other help, such as the Scottish Child Payment bridging payments and help with school meals during school holidays.
Read more about free school meals and Scottish Child Payment bridging payments.