School Kids Bonus-Am I stupid and missing something?

The Government has announced that it will pay money to parents with kids at school. In it's own words:


"This new guaranteed payment will help the families of 2.2 million school kids pay for uniforms, books, school excursions, stationery, and other costs like music lessons and sports registration fees."


Am I stupid and missing something? Because I thought

1. Sending children to school is compulsory and written in law
2. Public education is meant to be free
3. That the parents of the children with the lowest literacy/numeracy in the country are the least likely to be spending the bonus on uniforms, books, school excursions, stationery, and other costs like music lessons and sports registration fees.

Please feel free to enlighten me if I'm off the mark here.