Kinship Care in Scotland: Education & Financial Support Guide

Around 5,000 children in Scotland are in formal kinship care — raised by grandparents, aunts, uncles or family friends because their parents can’t look after them. The real number, including informal arrangements that never go through the council, is almost certainly double that. If you’re one of these carers, this guide is for you.

Formal vs informal kinship care

The distinction matters because it determines what financial support you can access.

Formal kinship care means the local authority is involved. The child is or was “looked after” under section 17 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, and the council has approved you as a kinship carer. You receive a kinship care allowance, typically equivalent to the foster care rate.

Informal kinship care is a private family arrangement. Perhaps the parents agreed that grandma would take over, or circumstances changed gradually. The council isn’t involved, there’s no order in place, and no automatic right to the kinship care allowance — though you may be eligible for other benefits.

The kinship care allowance

Since the Kinship Care Assistance (Scotland) Order 2016, formal kinship carers are entitled to an allowance equivalent to the basic fostering rate. This is paid by the local authority and is currently around:

• £175–200 per week per child (varies by council and child’s age)
• Paid until the child turns 18 (or longer if they remain in education)

Informal kinship carers do not automatically receive this. Some councils offer discretionary kinship payments, but these are typically lower and not guaranteed.

Education support: what kinship children can access

Kinship children are entitled to every educational support available to any child in Scotland, plus some additional provisions:

• School clothing grant — apply through your council on the same basis as any parent. You qualify based on benefit receipt. See our clothing grant guide.
• Free school meals — universal for P1–P5; means-tested from P6. Apply even if in the universal phase to unlock the clothing grant.
• Education Maintenance Allowance — £30/week for S5/S6 pupils from lower-income households. The EMA is paid to the young person, not the carer.
• School transport — same entitlement as any pupil based on distance from catchment school.
• Additional support needs — kinship children have statistically higher rates of ASN. The school has a duty to identify and support needs regardless of the care arrangement.

Benefits that stack

Kinship carers can often claim several benefits simultaneously:

• Scottish Child Payment — £26.70/week per child under 16 if you receive a qualifying benefit
• Child Benefit — transferred to you as the primary carer
• Best Start Grant school-age payment — £319.80 one-off when the child starts P1 or S1
• Best Start Foods — if the child is under 3
• Council Tax reduction — some councils offer reduced rates for kinship carers

University: the £9,000 question

Children who were formally looked after by a local authority — including under a kinship care order — are classified as care-experienced. This unlocks:

• The £9,000 per year non-repayable SAAS bursary (no income test, no repayment, full degree duration)
• Year-round university accommodation (no eviction during holidays)
• Named support contacts at every Scottish university
• Priority access to hardship funds

This is one of the strongest arguments for formalising an informal kinship arrangement before the child turns 18. See our care-experienced students guide for the full picture.

What kinship carers wish they’d known sooner

Three things come up repeatedly when we talk to kinship carers. First: formalise the arrangement if you can. The financial and educational benefits of formal kinship care are significantly better than informal, and the process is less daunting than most people expect. Second: apply for everything. Kinship carers are entitled to the same benefits as any parent plus additional support, but uptake is low because many don’t know what exists. Third: the child’s school needs to know. You don’t have to share every detail, but telling the school that the child is in kinship care allows them to flag additional support and handle sensitive situations (like Mother’s Day activities) with care.

Where to get help

• Kinship Scotland (kinship.scot) — the national charity for kinship carers, offering advice, peer support groups and a helpline
• CELCIS (celcis.org) — the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection, with research and practice guides
• Citizens Advice Scotland — for benefits advice and help navigating the system
• Your council’s kinship care team — every council has one, though they’re not always easy to find on the website. Phone the main switchboard and ask.