Financial Help for Parents and Carers

• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit & Working Tax Credit
• Free Entitlement to Nursery Education
• Employer Supported Childcare Vouchers
• Financial Help for Students
• Care to Learn
• Free School Meals and Clothing Grant
• New Deal for Lone Parents
• Sure Start Maternity Grant
• Healthy Start Vouchers
• Child Trust Fund
• Other sources of information
• Help with benefits
• For people with disabilities and their carers
• For further Information

Child Benefit

Child benefit is a regular payment for everyone who is bringing up children. It is paid for each:

• Child under 16 years old
• Child aged under 19 years old who is still in full time education
• Chid aged 16 or 17 years registered for work or training with the careers service, connexions service or similar service.

For more information visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit/index.htm  or telephone 0845 302 1444

Child Tax Credit & Working Tax Credit

Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit help to support families with children and working parents on a low income. Child benefit is not affected.

Child Tax Credit is a payment to support families with children regardless of whether you work or not. It provides support for:

• A child until 1st September following his or her 16th Birthday
• A young person aged 16-19 who is in full time education.

Working Tax Credit supports working people on low incomes (whether employed or self employed). You can only get this if you work at least 16 hours a week. Extra payments may also be available for lone parents and workers with a disability.

As part of Working Tax Credit you may qualify for extra help towards the costs of registered or approved childcare. This is known as the Childcare Element of the working tax credit.

For more information visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/index.htm  or telephone 0845 300 3900

Free Entitlement to Nursery Education

The government funds all local authorities to ensure that a free part time early education place is available to all families who have three and four year old children. Children are eligible for the funding the term after the child’s third birthday. To qualify for the autumn, spring or summer term the child must be three before the 1st September, 1st January or 1st April respectively.

For more information visit www.tameside.gov.uk/surestart/childcare/nurserygrant or contact Tameside Families Information Service on 0161 342 5434 for further details

Employer Supported Childcare Vouchers

Employers can support their employees with childcare in a number of ways: for example through childcare voucher schemes, workplace provisions or direct childcare subsidies. New income tax and National Insurance Contribution exemptions on the first £55 a week used towards registered or approved childcare which meansboth employers and employees make savings.

For more information ask your employer, or go on line at www.hmrc.gov.uk/childcare/  or contact Tameside Families Information Service for further information on 0161 342 5434 .

Financial Help for Students

The main source of financial support for students aged 16-19 years in further education is the Education Maintenance allowance (EMA).

What is it?

In order to qualify for EMA you must meet conditions relating to your age, your residence, your household income and the course you are attending. Provided you meet all the conditions you can receive £30 a week plus termly bonuses of £100 adding up to £500 over a two year course.

For more information about EMA visit http://ema.direct.gov.uk  or telephone 0800 121 8989

Care to Learn

Care to learn is for parents aged 19 and under who live in the UK. It aims to support you while you continue to study or train by offering advice and information and funding your childcare costs. The training can be in school, college or work based training. Your course or training can be full or part time and the scheme will cover childcare and travel costs.

For further information about Care to Learn visit Direct.gov.uk Care To Learn  or telephone 0845 600 2809

If you do not qualify for help from either the EMA or Care to Learn schemes because of your age, you may be eligible for help from Learner Support Funds (previously known as Access or Hardship funds) which include a childcare support fund. To apply contact the student support officer at your college, or if you are at school, via the school itself.

Full time students in Higher Education with dependent children may be able to access means tested grants such as the Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA) and the childcare grant where the children are in registered or approved childcare.

The local authority administers the grants as well as other elements of student support such as loans and tuition fees support.

For more information visit www.tameside.gov.uk/studentawards

Free School Meals and Clothing Grant

School aged children of families claiming certain benefits may be entitled to free school meals and a school uniform clothing grant.

Link to school meals: www.tameside.gov.uk/schools/meals or telephone 0161 342 8355

Link to clothing grant: www.tameside.gov.uk/schools/grants/clothing or telephone 0161 342 3257/3258

New Deal for Lone Parents

If you are a lone parent and are thinking of starting work, New Deal for Lone Parents might be able to offer financial help along with a wide range of support and information to help you get back in to employment.

You can receive help with the costs of:

• Approved vocational training (including costs you incur while you train such as travel expenses and registered childcare costs up to £175 per week for one child or £300 per week for two or more children.)

For further information contact the lone parent advisor team on 0800 868 868 or visit  www.direct.gov.uk/newdeal 

You can make arrangements to meet with a lone parent adviser at your local Jobcentre Plus office and discuss the options and support available to you if you want to make the move in to employment

Sure Start Maternity Grant

Sure Start Maternity Grants are one-off payments to help with the cost of things for a new baby. The payment comes from the social fund and you do not have to pay the money back. You can apply if you or your partner is receiving Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers Allowance or Working Tax Credit. Depending on your individual circumstances, you will be entitled to claim around £500.

To claim you need to complete a form (SF100 sure start). You can pick one up from your local Jobcentre Plus office or print one off from the Jobcentre Plus 

For more information on maternity and paternity rights and pay see working families fact sheets available on: www.workingfamilies.org.uk  or telephone 0800 013 0313.

Healthy Start Vouchers

With Healthy Start, you can get free vouchers every four weeks which you swap for milk, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and infant formula milk. You can also get free vitamins.

You qualify for vouchers if you are pregnant or have a child under 4 years and you and your family get income support, or income based Jobseekers Allowance, or Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit) and have a family income of below £ 14,155 or do not work more than 16 hours per week, or if you’re pregnant and under 18 years.

For more information telephone 0845 607 6823 or visit www.healthystart.nhs.uk 

Child Trust Fund

The Child Trust Fund is a new long term savings and investment account for children. It aims to give all children a financial head start in life and to help teach them the value of saving.

Each child born on or after the 1st September 2002 is eligible if:

• They live in the UK
• Child benefit has been awarded
• They are not subject to immigration restriction.

All eligible children will automatically receive a £250 voucher from the Government.

You will need to open a Child Trust Fund Account on their behalf.

If you have not received your information pack or voucher, please contact the Child Trust Fund helpline on 0845 302 1470 or visit www.childtrustfund.gov.uk 

Other sources of information

See ‘info for parents’ at www.daycaretrust.org.uk  or call Daycare Trust, Tel: 020 7840 3350

Help with benefits

Jobcentre Plus: Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance etc.

For your local office you can look in the phone book, contact the Families Information Service on: 0161 342 5434 or visit the Jobcentre Plus website 

For people with disabilities and their carers

Contact the benefits enquiry helpline on 0800 882 200 or contact your Local Citizens Advice Bureau, you can look in the phone book or visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk 

For further Information

For further information contact Tameside Families Information Service on the details below:

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Tameside Families Information Service Tameside Early Years Quality Development Centre Manchester Road Audenshaw M34 5GJ View local map
0161 342 5434
0161 342 5448