Schools transactions update 27 April 2026
Read to find out about the second P1/S1 allocation of places. There's also an update on FSM and EMA arrangements for 2026-27.
P1 and S1 school allocations update
Over the last fortnight we carried out a second round of allocations, offering any places from waiting lists and answering late placing requests received up to 19 April 2026. This includes any second preference requests we’ve been able to grant.
Both the P1 EPR system and SEEMiS provisional allocations for S1 places have been updated.
All parents were notified by email on 24 April 2026.
Free school meals and clothing grants
Easter holiday payment
We made an Easter holiday payment of £30 per child to all parents of children currently in receipt of free school meals.
Please note that these payments were only paid to parents with an 'income-based' entitlement to free school meals. Therefore, it was not paid to all parents of P1-P5 children, or any of the P6/7 SCP awards.
New eligibility criteria from 1 April 2026
On 1 April the Scottish Government revised the eligibility criteria for income-based entitlement to free school meals. The monthly take home pay theshold for families in receipt of Universal Credit has increased from £850 to £995, and for the first time families in receipt of Pension Credit will qualify.
Applications for 2026-27
Planning has started for opening applications for 2026-27. Applications for the current term are still open so please don’t advise anyone to apply for the next session just yet!
We will again be automatically awarding parents if they have a current benefit claim and meet the criteria. This will take place in June, and thereafter we’ll open applications for everyone else.
In the past, we have received multiple duplicate applications from parents who had already been awarded automatically, and we continue to receive a number of paper applications forms.
This creates challenges for our processing teams, as they must carry out duplicate checks and contact parents to advise that paper applications can not be accepted. As a result, less time is available to focus on processing new applications.
We kindly ask for your assistance in cascading this message to parents, advising them that all automatic awards will be processed by mid-June 2026 and that no further form submission is required.
We will post a new blog in June, confirming when the auto-awards have been completed and parents notified.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Applications for the current session closed on 31 March 2026.
Applications are planned to reopen for 2026-27 on Monday 8 June and we’ll do the usual mailshot out to all age-eligible students.