Financial Support

Free school meals

A free school meal is a school lunch provided by Aberdeen City Council free of charge to:

• All children in primary 1 to 5

• Children from families on a low income

• Children from families receiving support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• Children in primary 6 to 7 if the parent/carer receives the Scottish Child Payment

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.  This is called universal frees school meals.  You don't have to apply for them, your child will get them automatically.

Families on a low income

In addition to 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 (ACC awards 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 or support (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

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

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; and

• Have a child in primary 6 or 7

This is due to changes in Scottish Government legislation.

Free school meal vouchers during holiday periods

To receive Free School Meal Vouchers, due to low income, you must apply for free school meals for all children in your family in Primary 1 and above, including any who receive universal entitlement (e.g. Primary 1 to Primary 5 or those attending a Special School).

To be eligible, to receive Free School Meal Vouchers during holiday periods, parents or carers, or the child if they are between 16 and 18 years old, must receive a qualifying benefit or support (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

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

How to apply

You can apply for free school meals online. Before you apply online, you will need to set up an account. This is so you can track the progress of your application. 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

Education Maintenance Allowances

An EMA is a payment of £30 per week, paid directly into your bank account if you stay on in school, college or in home education after your official school leaving date.

Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) are part of the Scottish Government's agenda of encouraging access to, and participation in, further and higher education by young people from low-income families. These allowances are financial support for 16-19 year olds who stay on in full time non-advanced education after their statutory school leaving date (i.e. those continuing in post-compulsory education).

Aberdeen City Council pay EMAs, on behalf of the Scottish Government, to eligible school students. You need to apply each Academic Year that you wish to claim EMA.

To be eligible for an EMA in 2025/26 the student must:

• Have been born between 1 March 2006 and 28 February 2010

• Have a household income of £26,884 or below (for families with more than one dependent child in the household)* or

• Have a household income of £24,421 or below (for families with a single dependent child in the household).

• Be in full-time non-advanced education (up to SVQ level 3).

* Dependent children are all those up to the age of 16 and those over the age of 16 and up to the age of 25 if they are still in full-time education.

If you are an independent young person (i.e. receiving education while living in a foster home or children's home and are in the care of the local authority, or are living independently in receipt of Income Support or Contributions-Based Employment Support and Allowance), you are eligible for an EMA award without having to provide evidence of household income.

Following assessment of the application, weekly payments will be paid at £30.

Students become eligible for an EMA in August if they turn 16 between 1 March and 30 September and in January if they turn 16 between 1 October and end of February. Eligibility is reassessed each academic year.

• The start date of EMA payments is dependent on the date of your sixteenth birthday. If you are 16 on or before 30 September 2025 and we receive your application before 30 September 2025 we will pay your EMA from August 2025.

• If you are 16 between 1 October 2025 and 28 February 2026 and we receive your application before 28 February 2026 we will pay your EMA from January 2026.

• Applications received after the dates shown above will not be backdated. EMA will be paid from the start of the week in which we receive your application.

• Please note that the final date for all completed education maintenance allowance application forms is 31 March 2026. No application will be accepted or processed after this date

Note: The Scottish Ministers reserve the right to review the EMA programme at any time.

How to apply

You can apply for an education maintenance allowance online. Before you apply online, you will need to set up an account. This is so you can track the progress of your application.