Edinburgh firm wins £1.35m contract for free school bags

Summarised from The Herald's report · Updated 26 Oct, 13:38 · Archive

An Edinburgh-based firm has secured a two-year contract to produce and distribute free school bags to around 47,000 pupils starting primary school in Scotland from August 2027.

An Edinburgh-based firm, APS Group, has secured a two-year contract worth £1.35 million annually to produce and distribute free school bags to pupils starting primary school in Scotland from August 2027. The scheme will provide bags to around 47,000 children beginning Primary 1 that year.

The bags will be available in five colours—blue, green, pink, red and yellow—and each will contain a pencil case, pencils, crayons, a notebook, a water bottle and resources to encourage literacy and numeracy practice at home. The bags will also include information relevant to families of Primary 1 children to support their transition into school, including details of social security entitlements and advice on keeping children safe online. Children will have the option of adding a drawing to personalise their bag.

Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said the scheme aims to remove barriers for children at the very start of their school journey. She stated: 'We want to ensure children start school on an equal footing and with a feeling that they belong,' building on the success of the universal Baby Box offer.

Read the report

• Edinburgh firm wins £1.35m Scottish Government contract for free school bagsWelcome to School Bags for children starting school next year will be available in five different coloursThe Herald · 26 Oct, 11:26

In this story: APS Group · Scottish Government · Màiri McAllan · Edinburgh · Scotland

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