Scotland plans free school meals rollout to selected secondary pupils
The Scottish Government is aiming to tackle child poverty by expanding free school meals to thousands of S1-S3 pupils who receive the Scottish Child Payment, starting with eight council areas in August 2025.
Scottish Greens finance spokesperson Ross Greer MSP said: “No young person should be sitting in school hungry. As a result of our work, thousands more pupils in secondary year one to three will now receive a free school meal. This will build on the success of expanding free school meals in primary schools, a policy delivered by the Scottish Greens a few years ago.”
In September 2024 the Scottish Government announced that the Universal Free School Meals (USFM) programme will be capped for pupils in primary year six and seven who are in receipt of Scottish Child Payment (SCP). Every primary pupil in Scotland in primary year one to five is eligible to receive a nutritious school meal.