Clothing grants and free school meals

You may be able to get help with the cost of school or nursery clothing if you:

• have a child who goes to one of our schools or,
• a child aged 3 or 4 and goes to one of our nurseries

If you get Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction from us, you do not need to apply. We will check the information we already hold and award the grant automatically if you qualify. If you get Universal Credit and do not get Council Tax Reduction, you can apply online.

Who can get a grant

You can get a grant if your child is aged 3 or 4 and goes to a nursery, or goes to primary or secondary school in South Lanarkshire, and you get one of these benefits (figures are for academic year commencing August 2026):

• Universal Credit, and your earned income is less than £1,660 in the assessment period before you apply
• Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction

Single person discount is not the same as Council Tax Reduction. If you only get single person discount, you should still apply. If you received a clothing grant last year and your circumstances have not changed, you do not need to apply again, we award your grant automatically.

Applications for academic year 2026/27 starting in August 2026 can now be made.

How much you will get

For the 2026/27 school year, we pay £150 for each nursery child and primary school child, and £170 for each secondary school child.

How we pay you

We pay clothing grants into your bank account by BACS. Payments for 2026 to 2027 start from 26 June 2026. If you make a new online application, it can take up to 4 weeks to get your payment.

How to apply

Do not apply online if you get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction from us. We will award the grant automatically if you qualify. If you get Universal Credit and do not get Council Tax Reduction, you can apply online using our form below.

If you are applying under kinship care, contact us using our online enquiry form before you apply.

What you need

Before you start, have your evidence ready to upload. This may include your most recent Universal Credit statement, a benefit award letter, or proof of Child Benefit.

If you get Universal Credit, upload all pages of your latest payment statement. Make sure it shows your name and address, the assessment period, and all payment and deduction details.

Missing pages can delay your application.

Submit evidence

If you have been asked to provide evidence to support an application that you have already made for a clothing grant or free school meals, you can submit this using our online form. 

If you need help with uploading evidence, see our guidance on uploading files to online forms.

Bank details

If we have contacted you to provide your bank details for clothing grants or free school meals holiday payment, use our form below to send us your details

Other help

For information on  free school meals, please check our free school meals page. 

If you qualify for certain benefits, you may also be able to get a leisure concession card from South Lanarkshire Leisure with up to 50% off some activities.

Find out about the leisure concession card