This information is designed to help you raise awareness in your school community. Use it in staff sessions, working group discussions, or with Parent Councils to build understanding of why families may struggle with school costs.
Poverty varies in scale across Scotland but exists, to some extent, in every area and in every school.
“They need to think about the diverse nature of the different families in the school.”
Parent
Around one in five children in Scotland (210,000) are officially recognised as living in poverty. This means growing up without the resources to ‘obtain the type of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities’ which are normal in 21st century Scotland.
Poverty rates vary within each local authority. This means that even in local authorities with relatively low levels overall, there are areas with many families living in poverty.
Child Poverty Action Group's facts and figures show how high poverty rates are for children in Scotland and across the UK.
Three quarters of children in poverty live in working households. Scottish Government statistics show that while full-time work reduces the risk, many jobs do not pay enough or provide enough hours to keep a family afloat. Low pay, a lack of suitable employment opportunities, a lack of suitable childcare, caring responsibilities, ill health and disability all contribute to financial hardship.
Families on low incomes spend a larger share of their income on essentials like housing, transport, food, clothing, personal items, social and cultural participation and childcare. Rising costs hit these families hardest. Being unable to afford living costs can lead to debt mounting up, difficulty finding work and paying higher prices for food. School costs such as uniforms, food, resources, trips, and transport can all add further pressure on stretched budgets.
Our social security system is meant to be a safety net, but many families claiming benefits live below the poverty line. Ongoing welfare reforms are a major contributing factor to the increase in child poverty forecast for Scotland.
Any family can fall into poverty, but some groups face higher risks. This includes households with single parents, disabled members, children under one, families with three or more children, mothers aged under 25, and families from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Children in priority groups have a higher risk of being in poverty
Scottish Government: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031
"I think they offer more help to some families that seem poorer, but they sometimes assume some families are ok financially when they’re not."
Parent
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set legal targets of fewer than 18% of children in poverty by 2023/24, and less than 10% by 2030. Local authorities and health boards produce annual Local Child Poverty Action Reports showing how they are working towards these goals.
There has been progress to reduce child poverty rates, and they are lower than in the rest of the UK, which may be mainly due to the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment. However there is still a long way to go to meet statutory targets.
Everyone working in schools and with children and families can play a part in tackling poverty. Taking a Cost of the School Day approach means reducing costs for families and helping to maximise incomes by making sure they can access the financial support they need.
Poverty has a ferocious and lasting effect on children’s health, wellbeing and learning. Families living on low incomes often lack essentials like food, warm housing and access to clothing, clubs, trips and extras for the home. Constant stress about money can affect parents’ and carers’ wellbeing and, in turn, their children.
This affects children at school. Children from low-income households can face barriers to attendance, engagement and learning.
Children and young people responding to the Big Question survey told us about the basics needed at home and at school to help them feel ready to learn. These included the right uniform, resources for learning, enough food and not being worried or stressed about money.
"If ur hungry or stressed you're not gonna concentrate."
Secondary school pupil
Every child should have fair access to an education which helps them develop the skills and knowledge needed for life. Yet costs for trips, uniform, resources, food and transport often get in the way. As one young person explained:
“Well I think if all of your friends or people you know go to the after-school clubs, school trips, that kind of isolates you from them. You’re singled out, you’re not with them, just a spare person.”
Parents and carers describe the same pressures:
“It felt like they weren’t interested and that we were on our own. If it’s smallish amounts of money I don’t raise it as they don’t seem to understand.”
Parent
Hear from children and young people about the things that their schools are doing to tackle the Cost of the School Day, such as breakfast clubs, digital lending schemes, making fun events cost neutral and accessible, and free clubs.
Cost of the School Day helps schools tackle financial barriers. By taking action schools can remove barriers and make sure every child has equal access, support wellbeing and inclusion so children feel respected and part of school life, and ease financial worries and maximise incomes, which is directly linked improved outcomes for children and young people.
Throughout Scotland, simple policy and practice changes are reducing the cost of learning and supporting children and families.
"Parents don’t have to feel guilty about not having money for school trips and activities - the costs are either removed via school attempts to tackle costs associated with the school day or costs are covered using our cost of the school day funding.”
Renfrewshire Council
Why it's important to tackle costs, from children and the headteacher at Netherburn Primary School
Poverty awareness and action to remove cost pressures, barriers to learning and stigma cuts across everything we do with children and families. Cost of the School Day is not a separate initiative – it links with and supports a range of other education and children's policy areas.
“Tackling the cost of the school day can help to remove financial barriers to learning and participation for children on low incomes. It can also reduce pressure on family budgets. Focusing on the cost of the school day improves equity through better understanding of barriers faced by pupils and families affected by poverty and the development of poverty aware policies and practices.”
Pupil Equity Fund: national operational guidance
