Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme
The Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme (SMHSS) is a universal preschool policy which supports healthy growth and development in children by promoting and establishing healthy eating habits from an early age that can last into later life.
The SMHSS offers funding to eligible day care settings for the provision of a free daily portion of fruit and/or vegetables as well as a free daily serving of milk, or specified non-dairy alternative, for every child spending two hours or more in their care.
The SMHSS is funded by the Scottish Government and is administered by Scotland’s local authorities who provide upfront payments to participating childcare settings.
The SMHSS is open equally to all regulated childcare settings across Scotland, whether or not they provide ELC funded places.
Joining the Scheme
An eligible setting wishing to participate should register for the SMHSS with the local authority in which it operates (in the case of chains, registration must be where each individual setting is located).
This means that settings will get their agreed funding for the Scheme upfront to enable them to purchase the specified products for their children throughout that year.
Additional information on how to register will be available from local authorities. Read more information including guidance for local authorities and childcare settings.
Delivery of the Scheme
The Scheme covers 189mls (1/3 pint) per child per day of:
- plain fresh cow’s milk (whole milk for children 1 year and over, including the option of semi-skimmed milk) or first infant formula (for children under 12 months)
- or, where children cannot consume cow’s milk for medical, ethical or religious reasons, plain fresh goat or sheep milk (whole milk for children 1 year and over, including the option of semi-skimmed milk), or a specified unsweetened calcium-enriched non-dairy alternative drink
- a healthy snack portion (fruit or vegetables) per child per day
The regulations state all drinks to be provided in 200mls servings where the milk or non-dairy alternatives is only supplied in 200 ml containers.
The most recent nutritional advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommends that children from 1 to 5 should be offered plain cow’s milk under the Scheme as the most nutritious drink. Specified non-dairy alternatives should only be provided where parents advise that children cannot drink cow’s milk for medical, ethical or religious reasons.