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If you are a full-time student in England with children, you may be able to receive the Childcare Grant to help you with nursery fees and other childcare costs.
The money can provide much-needed funds to ensure your child is looked after while you focus on your studies.
What is the Childcare Grant?
The Childcare Grant is money which full-time higher education students in England with children under the age of 15 (or 17 if they have special educational needs) can get each week to help them with childcare costs.
You do not have to repay the Childcare Grant and you can get it on top of your other student finance, but any funds that you have left at the end of the academic year must be returned.
The money you get each week will be paid directly to your childcare provider through the Childcare Grant payment scheme. If you are eligible, you will be instructed to set up a specific Childcare Grant account from which your provider will request payments.
You cannot use the grant to pay for upfront costs, such as a deposit and you can only approve payments to your nursery or other childcare provider once your course has started.
Childcare Grant eligibility
To qualify for the Childcare Grant, there are a few things that must apply to you.
- You must be a full-time student
- You receive or be eligible for undergraduate student finance
- You are a permanent resident in England
- You have a child under 15, or 17 if they have special educational needs
- Your children in your application must be financially dependent on you
If your child is cared for at home, the person looking after them cannot be a relative.
Your childcare provider must be registered with Ofsted, the regulatory body of childcare services in England (including if your child is cared for at home).
If you are eligible for Childcare Grant, you can still get income-related, unemployment and housing benefits.
However, you cannot claim the following at the same time as the Childcare Grant:
- Universal Credit
- Tax-Free Childcare
- The childcare element of Working Tax Credit
Additionally, you will not be eligible if you or your partner receive help with childcare costs from the NHS.
How much is the Childcare Grant?
The Childcare Grant pays you either 85 per cent of your childcare costs or a fixed maximum amount each week, whichever is less.
The Childcare Grant fixed amounts for the 2024 to 2025 academic year are:
- One child: up to £193.62 per week
- Two or more children: up to £331.95 per week
The amount you get may not cover all of your childcare fees and you will have to pay for any remaining costs.
How do payments work?
The money will be paid into a Childcare Grant Payment Service (CCGPS) account. Instructions on how to set your CCGPS account up will be sent to you via email.
Your childcare provider, for example a day nursery, will then be paid directly from this account by sending requests for payment which you need to approve.
If there is any leftover money sitting in your account at the end of the academic year, this will be returned to Student Finance England.
How to apply for Childcare Grant
To apply for a Childcare Grant, you can do this as part of your main student finance application.
You will need to provide evidence to support your claim. You will be told what evidence you need to provide during your application.
If your application is successful, you will receive a letter to let you know how much you will get.
The last step is creating the online account with the CCGPS which your provider will request payments from. You will receive an email explaining how to do this.
Once your course has started, you can approve payments. To do this, you need to login to your account, usually once a week.
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