SNP to extend free school meals programme if re-elected
Free school meals will be extended to nursery children in Scotland if they SNP are re-elected in May.
Nicola Sturgeon pledged to open up the free school meals for children aged two to four, as well as expanding early years education to include full day provision, at the SNP Spring Conference.
She said: “Making sure that our youngest children get access to a healthy nutritious meal that improves their capacity to learn - without the stigma of means testing.”
Free school meals are already delivered to children in Primaries 1 to 3 in Scotland, benefitting 135,000 children across Scotland and saving families around £380 a year for each child.
However, although Labour welcome the expansion of free school meals, Iain Gray, the party’s leader, warned Sturgeon that nurseries and schools need the capacity to deliver them.
The Conservatives have also criticised the SNP over figures that showed some councils raised charges for school lunches for older children by up to a third.