Parents and carers in West Dunbartonshire have until midnight on February 28 to apply for the School Age Payment, which offers funds to help children get ready for primary school. Worth £319.80 per child, the payment is part of the Best Start Grant scheme, available only in Scotland, and can be used for school necessities including clothes, school trips and stationery. There is no requirement for the child to have started school or to be enrolled in a school place. "School Age Payment helps ease the financial pressures of starting school while playing an important role in our mission to tackle child poverty. Since the launch of the Best Start Grant in 2018, Social Security Scotland has delivered more than 3000 School Age Payment claims in West Dunbartonshire.