Children

Child Benefit

You can claim Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is:

• Under 16
• Under 20 if they stay in approved education or training

Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child. It is paid every 4 weeks and there’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

Claim Child Benefit

Tax-free childcare

You can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the cost of childcare. For more information check: Claim tax-free childcare.

• 30 hours free childcare - Eligible working families in England with 3 and 4 year old children can receive 30 hours of free childcare a week.
• 15 hours free childcare - Families in England who have 2-year-old children and are on certain benefits can get 15 hours of free childcare a week.

All families with children aged 3 and 4 can also access 15 hours of free childcare a week. Visit Childcare Choices for more information.

Free school meals

These are available to pupils in England if parents get certain benefits. If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll remain eligible even if you return to work or your current wage increases, until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they’re in on 31 March 2023.

Click here to check if your child can get free school meals.

School uniform

Get up to £150 towards school uniforms. How much you can get to help pay for school uniforms varies depending on where you live, but you can get up to £150 in some local authorities.

As a general rule, those on income support, Universal Credit, JSA, child tax credit, ESA, and pension tax credit are entitled to support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

To apply, check Gov.uk website, which will direct you to your council's website where you should search for “uniform grant” in the “Education” section to find out what help is available in your area.

School transport

Find out if your child is eligible for help with the cost of home to school transport through your local council website. Help with home to school transport - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Holiday activities and food programme

You can get access to free activities and food for your children in the holidays if they receive free school meals. Contact your local council to find out more.

Healthy Start vouchers

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be able to get help to buy healthy food and milk. Check if you’re eligible for Healthy Start vouchers.

Maternity costs

You could claim a one-off payment of £500 to help towards the costs of having a child. Check if you’re eligible for the Sure Start Maternity Grant.

If you’re worried about not being able to pay your rent, please speak to your rent payment officer who’ll be able to help you.

To see more cost of living support you can receive from the government and other organisations, please click the button below:

Cost of living support