Around 47,000 children starting Primary One across Scotland next year will receive a free backpack filled with school essentials, helping families prepare for one of the most important milestones in a child’s early life.
The Scottish Government confirmed on Monday 26 October that its Welcome to School Bags programme will offer children a choice of five colours when they begin school in August 2027.
The backpacks will be available in blue, green, pink, red and yellow, with youngsters also invited to add their own drawings to make their bags more personal.
Each will contain a pencil case, pencils, crayons, a notebook and a water bottle, alongside resources designed to encourage reading, writing and numeracy activities at home.
Families will also receive useful information about financial support, social security entitlements and ways to help children stay safe online.
For parents facing the expense of preparing a child for school, the initiative aims to remove some of the practical costs associated with those first days in the classroom.
The Scottish Government says the scheme builds on its existing Baby Box programme, which provides essential items to families following the arrival of a new baby.
Edinburgh based APS Group has secured a two year contract worth £1.35 million annually to assemble and distribute the school bags across Scotland.
The company will deliver the backpacks directly to schools ahead of the 2027 to 2028 academic year, allowing children to receive them before their first official day.
Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said:
“Excellence and equity is my principal ambition for education, and providing every new P1 pupil with a high-quality bag is part of our wider work to remove barriers for all at the very start of their school journey.
“Building on the success of our universal Baby Box offer, we want to ensure children start school on an equal footing and with a feeling that they belong.
“As well as being available in five colours, children will have the option of adding a drawing to personalise their Welcome to School Bag, to help them start school excited and with all the essentials for their first steps into the classroom.
“These will be delivered in time to be given to children during their transition visits, when the new intake go into primary schools ahead of the summer holidays to get to know their new class.”
The timing means children should receive their backpacks during the familiarisation visits that schools organise before the summer holidays.
Those visits give youngsters an opportunity to meet teachers, explore classrooms and begin making friends before the new term starts.
By providing the bags at that stage, the government hopes children will feel more confident and prepared for their introduction to school life.
The programme will be available to new Primary One pupils across Scotland, including children attending schools throughout the Highlands and Islands.
With five colours to choose from and the opportunity to personalise their bags, the initiative is designed to make the experience enjoyable for children as well as useful for their families.
For thousands of young Scots, receiving their first school bag will become part of the excitement of starting Primary One next August.
