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UK-wide support

Student finance

Education is a devolved matter and students receive publicly funded support, including childcare support, from the student finance body of where they normally live, regardless of where in the UK they study. See the respective sections on England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland below for more information.

Support from education providers

Education providers receive funding which they distribute to students in financial need. This funding might be known as hardship funds or learner support funds in England, hardship funds or the Financial Contingency Fund in Wales, discretionary funds in Scotland, and support funds in Northern Ireland.

This funding can be used to pay for childcare costs. Students should speak to their university or college to understand what might be available.

Benefit support

Most full-time students are not eligible to claim Universal Credit (UC), but there are some exceptions, including students who are responsible for a child. Students who want to check if they are entitled to benefits should seek professional welfare rights advice. Welfare rights advisers can be found using the postcode finder on the Advice Local website.

UC includes a childcare costs element, but many students who are able to claim UC will not be eligible for reimbursement of childcare costs. This is because the UC childcare element only covers childcare to allow the claimant to undertake paid work (for couples, both partners must normally be in paid work).

Tax-Free Childcare

Under the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme, a parent or carer pays funds for childcare into a TFC account. The Government then tops up each £8 paid in with an extra £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child, per year (or £4,000 per year for a disabled child). Money in the TFC account can then be used to pay for approved childcare for any child under 12 years of age, or under 17 if they are disabled.

A parent/carer can usually only qualify for TFC if they, and their partner if they have one, earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week.

England

Information about childcare support is available on the Government’s Childcare Choices website.

Free childcare entitlements

In England, the free childcare offer comprises:

The Government has announced plans to extend the 30 hours entitlement to children from working families aged 9 months to three years. The expansion will happen in stages from April 2024. Further information is available in the Library briefing on help with childcare costs

Support for higher education students

Full-time undergraduate students with children under 15, or under 17 if the child has special educational needs, may be eligible for a Childcare Grant towards their childcare costs.

The Parents’ Learning Allowance is additional funding for eligible full-time students with children that can be used for everyday costs of study, such as books, study materials, and travel.

Medical and dentistry students may be eligible for the Childcare Allowance, Dependent’s Allowance, and Parent Learning Allowance elements of the NHS bursary. Students on certain pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate healthcare courses, including midwifery and nursing, may be eligible for Parental Support from the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Postgraduate students in receipt of a Social Work Bursary may be eligible for the Childcare Allowance and Parents’ Learning Allowance.

Support for further education students

Help with childcare costs for further education students aged 20 or older is provided through Learner Support funds, which are administered by individual providers.

Students under 20 years of age at the start of a publicly funded further education course with children may be eligible for weekly payments through the Care to Learn scheme.

Wales

Free childcare entitlements

Three- and four-year-olds in Wales can get a maximum of 30 hours a week of early education and childcare for 48 weeks of the year. The entitlement is available to parents enrolled on an undergraduate or postgraduate course, or a course delivered by a further education institution, that is at least 10 weeks in length.

Flying Start is an Early Years programme for families with children under four years of age who live in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Wales. The programme comprises four elements, including free part-time childcare for two and three-year-olds (up to 12.5 hours a week).

Support for higher education students

Full-time undergraduate students with children under 15, or under 17 if the child has special educational needs, may be eligible for a Childcare Grant towards their childcare costs.

The Parents’ Learning Allowance is additional funding for eligible full-time students with children that can be used for everyday costs of study, such as books, study materials, and travel.

Students in receipt of a NHS bursary might be eligible for Dependent’s Allowance, Childcare Allowance, and Parent’s Learning Allowance. Students in receipt of a Social Work Bursary might be eligible for a Childcare Grant and additional funding towards study costs.

Support for further education students

Further education students may be able to claim help with the cost of childcare from the Financial Contingency Fund.

Scotland

Free childcare entitlements

All three and four-year-olds are entitled to 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare a year. More funded hours may be available in some local authority areas. There is no requirement for parents to be in work.

The funded childcare offer is available to some two-year-olds, including if they have experience of being in care.

Support for higher and further education students

The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) provides childcare funds to universities for students to help towards the cost of registered or formal childcare costs. The Scottish Funding Council provides funds to colleges. The childcare funds comprise:

  • Discretionary Childcare Funds for all students with formal registered childcare expenses.
  • The Lone Parent Childcare Grant (LPCG) for lone parents with formal registered childcare expenses while studying.

Students should contact their university or college for more information. Higher education students who are lone parents may also be eligible for the income-assessed Lone Parents’ Grant from SAAS.

Paramedic, nursing, and midwifery students may qualify for the Single Parent’s Allowance and Childcare Allowance from SAAS as part of the Paramedic, Nursing, and Midwifery Student Bursary.

Additional benefit support

Students who live in Scotland, who are entitled to certain means-tested benefits or tax credits and have children under 16, may be eligible for Scottish Child Payment.

These students might also be eligible for support from a Best Start Grant or Best Start Foods.

Northern Ireland

Free childcare entitlements

Children in Northern Ireland are entitled to 12.5 hours per week of free pre-school education for 38 weeks of the year in the year before they start compulsory education. Parents can only use the funded hours to secure a pre-school place (usually comprising 2.5 hours per day, five days per week during term time).

Support for higher education students

Full-time undergraduate students with children under 15, or under 17 if the child has special educational needs, may be eligible for a Childcare Grant towards their childcare costs.

The Parents’ Learning Allowance is additional funding for eligible full-time students with children that can be used for everyday costs of study, such as books, study materials, and travel.

Students studying on health professional courses may qualify for additional allowances, including support with dependents.

Support for further education students

Parents aged between 16 and 20 studying at a further education college can apply to the Care to Learn scheme for help with childcare costs.

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