Education benefits & support

Free School Meals: School Holiday Support Payments

This funding is to enable payment of £2.50 per day as an alternative to free school meal provision during the school holidays. This provision will cover the summer holidays; the Christmas and Easter holidays and the mid-term holidays in October and February.

This payment will be made to children and young people who are awarded free school meals based on the Scottish Government eligibility criteria. To be eligible for payment, children and young people must have been approved for free school meals prior to the beginning of the relevant holiday period.

How will the payment be made to parents and carers?

We will make direct payments to your bank account, using the details we hold on your Free School Meals or Clothing Grant claim. If no bank details are held on file, payments will be issued by cheque.

When will I be paid?

Payments for each eligible pupil will be made at the start of the holiday periods at Easter, Summer, October, Christmas and February as follows:

Payment Amount Date payment to be made
Easter 2026
(Friday 03 April to Friday 17 April)
£27.50 Wednesday 01 April 2026
Summer 2026 
(Monday 29 June to Friday 07 August) 
£75 Friday 24 June 2026 
October 2026 
(Monday 12 October to Friday 23 October) 
£25 Friday 09 October 2026 
Christmas 2026 
(Wednesday 23 December to Monday 04 January) 
£22.50 Friday 18 December 2026 
February 2027 
(Friday 12 February to Monday 15 February) 
£5 Wednesday 10 February 2027 
Easter 2027 
(Monday 05 April to Friday 16 April) 
£25 Friday 02 April 2027 

While payments should be received on these dates, this may vary slightly depending on your bank and payment method. We will email eligible parents/carers to confirm the payment.

Who is not eligible for this additional support?

Pupils not eligible for this are:

  • Pre-school pupils in early years establishments.
  • Universal Free School Meals.
    • P1-P5 pupils and those pupils in special educational settings where they receive a free meal through universal and not means-tested provision.
    • P6-P7 pupils who receive a free meal through eligibility for Scottish Child Payment.

For further information please contact us:

Free School Meals Team
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