How to apply or renew free school meals and school clothing grants

The person making the claim must be the person in receipt of the benefit, and only one application form is needed for all the children in the family you wish to claim for.

If you wish to apply for free school meals and a school clothing grant, you should complete the online application form.

To complete the application you will be asked to provide the following:

your details and your partner’s details (if applicable)
your national insurance number
your child's name(s), date of birth and school attended
your bank account details (school clothing grants are paid directly to your bank account, we cannot accept post office accounts. We can accept third party bank accounts)

You will also be asked to upload your benefit evidence. You can do this by taking a screenshot of your full Universal Credit Payment Statement or taking a photograph of your full Child Tax Credit Award Notice.

How to access your Universal Credit Payment statement

select “Payments”
view statement by pay date – select your most recent statement
we will not accept an incomplete statement

If you receive Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance and receive housing benefit, we can check our system.

Would you like help filling in the form?

If you have any queries or having difficulty completing the form please email freeschoolmeals@eastlothian.gov.uk

If you would like information in your own language or format (e.g. Braille), please phone 01620 827199 or email publicinfo@eastlothian.gov.uk.

We can provide you with a translation or an interpreted meeting. You don't have to pay anything for translation or interpretation.

Application Form