Help with childcare costs

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.

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.

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’s paid every 4 weeks and there’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

Universal Credit Childcare Support

You may be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs if you’re eligible for Universal Credit, with up to £951 back each month for one child or £1,630 for 2 or more children.

Apply for free school meals

Free school meals are available to pupils in England during term time if parents get certain benefits.

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.

The programme runs through the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays this year.

National Breakfast Clubs

All participating schools will receive a 75% government subsidy for breakfast club provision, with 25% from other funding streams.

Claim 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.

Get help with maternity costs

You could claim a one-off payment of £500 to help towards the costs of having a child.