Best Start Grant School Age Payment application window opens

Most families get Best Start Grant School Age Payment automatically, if they are already getting Scottish Child Payment.

A small number of people who do not get the payment automatically have been urged to check if they are eligible and apply.

The payment provides a one-off payment of £314.45 per child to families when their children are old enough to start primary school. It provides extra money to help with the costs of starting school and can cover things like a new pair of shoes, books and school bags.

Social Security Scotland will notify people by text message when we are checking eligibility for Best Start Grant School Age Payment. If someone is eligible, we will write to let them know they will get the payment automatically without the need to apply.

Those who need to apply separately includes some people who get Housing Benefit but are not eligible for Scottish Child Payment and those who have chosen not apply for Scottish Child Payment or opted out of automatic payments. This also includes parents and carers who are under 18, or who are 18 or 19 and dependent on someone else who gets benefits for them.

Eligible families with children born between 1 March 2019 and 29 February 2020 who don’t get the payment automatically must apply before the deadline of 28 February 2025 or they will miss their opportunity to access School Age Payment. This includes families who have deferred their child’s entry to school from August 2024 to August 2025, or those home educating.

Join us in marking applications opening and if you work with people who may be eligible, please help promote Best Start Grant School Age Payment across your networks and channels.

Parents, carers and guardians can get more information at mygov.scot/schoolage or by calling us free on 0800 182 2222.