Parents across Scotland can now register with their local council to get help with the costs of school clothing and shoes for the 2022/2023 academic year. This help is called a 'School Clothing Grant' and is a cash payment worth at least £120 which is paid directly into your bank account.
Applications are open from July/August until the end of March the following year and most payments are typically made before the new school year starts in August, but this can vary between councils. Everybody who receives a School Clothing Grant will be given at least £120 per child of primary school age and £150 per child of secondary school age.
Two councils have been allocated additional monies from the Scottish Government, which means they are offering £240 per eligible primary school child and £300 per eligible secondary school child. This increase is aimed at helping families cope with the current cost of living increases and will be applicable only for academic year 2022/23.
Free school meals in and out of term time
All children in primary 1 to 5 receive universal free school meals, however, you are not automatically entitled to meal payments during holidays must be applied for.
You may be able to apply for free school meals at the same time as you apply for the School Clothing Grant, your local council website will advise you.
Find out more about this on the mygov.scot website, here.
School Clothing Grant eligibility
This can vary between local authorities, but typically, you can apply for a grant if you or your family receives:
- Income Support
- Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, and your annual income is less than £16,105
- Both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit with an annual income of less than £7,500
- Universal Credit with a monthly take home pay of less than £625
If you are between 16 and 18 years old and receive any of these benefits in your own right, you can apply for a School Clothing Grant for yourself.
How to apply
You need to apply for the grant through your local council, which is simple and quick to do.
Find a direct link to your local council’s dedicated page for School Clothing Grants on the mygov.scot website, here.
Scottish council School Clothing Grants 2022/23
Below are the rates of payment for the clothing grant by council.
Aberdeen City Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Aberdeenshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Angus Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Argyll and Bute Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Clackmannanshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council)
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Dumfries and Galloway Council
- £134 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Dundee Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
East Ayrshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
East Dunbartonshire Council
- £240 per child of primary school
- £300 per child of secondary school age
East Lothian Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
East Renfrewshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
City of Edinburgh Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Falkirk Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Fife Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Glasgow City Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Highland Council
- £140 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Inverclyde Council
- £150 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Midlothian Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Moray Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
North Ayrshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
North Lanarkshire Council
- £140 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Orkney Islands Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Perth and Kinross Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Renfrewshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Scottish Borders Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Shetland Islands Council
- £100 per child in early learning
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
South Ayrshire Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
South Lanarkshire Council
- £130 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
Stirling Council
- £120 per child of primary school
- £150 per child of secondary school age
West Dunbartonshire Council - eligibility is different, find out more here
- £300 per child of primary school
- £300 per child of secondary school age
This will be paid in two £150 instalments over the academic year with the first payment being made once your application has been processed and a second payment being made around the end of December 2022.
West Lothian Council
- £150 per child of primary school
- £180 per child of secondary school age
For more information about help with school clothing costs, visit the mygov.scot website, here.
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