We will ensure children who are eligible for free school meals and other benefits receive them, helping to make a positive contribution to the wellbeing of those children.
At its meeting in February 2023, the Council agreed to align the criteria for free school meals and clothing grant and to increase school clothing grant payments by 50% in the 2023-24 financial year. Funding to cover the additional cost of this was to be drawn from the Cost of Living Fund set up by the Council in 2022 using some of the allocation of the net revenue generated by Scottish Crown Estate assets.
As all P1-P5 pupils now receive Free School Meals, only Primary 6 and 7 are counted. 9.5% of Primary pupils in Shetland are registered for Free School Meals (2022-23), which was considerably lower than the Scottish average of 20.6%. The nationally published data is from a start-of-year survey; by the end of the Academic Year 2022/23 there were 15.4% of pupils receiving Free School Meals – 10.2% through the Scottish Government Eligibility Criteria and 5.2% through Shetland Islands Council Extended Eligibility.
The national figures show that 8.4% of Secondary pupils were registered for Free School Meals (2022-23) which had not increased from the previous year. The rate was lower than the Scottish average of 17.8%. The same issue on timing of the survey, highlighted above, applies. However, Children’s Services staff increased advertising and communication with schools and sent letters to previous applicants and, by the end of the Academic Year 2022/23, 17.2% of secondary pupils were receiving Free School Meals – 10.9% through Scottish Government Eligibility Criteria and 6.3% through Shetland Islands Council Extended Eligibility.