Student finance for students with dependants

• Who is eligible for Parents' Learning Allowance and how much can you get?
• Who is eligible for Childcare Grant and how much can you get?
• Who is eligible for Adult Dependants' Grant and how much can you get?
• How to apply for Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant
• How to apply for Childcare Grant
• Evidence required for Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance
• Evidence required for Adult Dependants' Grant
• Evidence required from continuing students for dependants’ grants

If you have children or an adult who depends on you financially, and you want to study a full-time undergraduate course or an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) course, you may be able to get extra help.

You could get a Childcare Grant, Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant. These grants are paid in addition to your main student finance and don’t usually have to be paid back.

Parents' Learning Allowance helps with course-related costs if you have dependent children. How much you can get depends on your household income.

You can apply for Parents’ Learning Allowance if you’re a full-time undergraduate student or a full-time postgraduate ITT student and have children who depend on you. 

This allowance helps with the extra costs associated with being a parent and a student. You don’t need to be paying for childcare to be eligible.

How Parents' Learning Allowance is paid

SFE will pay any Parents' Learning Allowance you’re entitled to directly into your bank account in three instalments, usually at the same time as any other student finance you get. If you apply after the start of your course, your Parents' Learning Allowance might be paid later than your other student finance.

You won’t have to pay back your Parents’ Learning Allowance unless you’re overpaid due to a change in your circumstances – so it’s important you let SFE know if your circumstances change.

• How to apply for Parents’ Learning Allowance

You can apply for help to pay your childcare costs. You could get up to 85% of your weekly costs. What you can get depends on your household income. You can check the household income threshold at gov.uk/childcare-grant/eligibility

You can apply for a Childcare Grant if you’re a full-time undergraduate student or a full-time postgraduate ITT student, and at the beginning of the academic year you:

• have at least one dependent child under 15 and in registered or approved childcare, or
• have at least one dependent child under 17, who has special educational needs and is in registered or approved childcare.

You may also be able to get a Childcare Grant if you ordinarily live in England and study abroad as part of your UK course.

You will not be eligible for a Childcare Grant if, you or your partner receives the following:

• the childcare element of Working Tax Credit,
• the childcare element of Universal Credit, 
• Tax-Free Childcare from HM Revenue & Customs, or
• NHS-funded childcare grants

You can, however, choose to get the Childcare Grant instead.

Types of childcare that qualify for Childcare Grant

You can only apply for Childcare Grant if your childcare provider is registered or approved by:

• Ofsted,
• The Department for Education,
• the Care Quality Commission, or
• an equivalent inspection body appointed by the Secretary of State to inspect certain independent schools. If your childcare provider is in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, they must be registered or approved by the regulatory body that inspects childcare in the country they’re based.

You won’t be able to get Childcare Grant if your childcare provider is:

• your partner,
• a relative of your child and providing care in your child’s home

Childcare Grant may be available if the childcare provider is:

• a relative of your child and is:
  • approved under the Approval of Child Care Providers Scheme in Wales, or the Approval of Home Child Care Providers Scheme in Northern Ireland,
  • providing care away from your child’s home

However, if your childcare provider is only caring for children they are related to, you will not be eligible for CCG.

• How to apply for Childcare Grant

You can apply for Adult Dependants’ Grant if you’re a full-time undergraduate student or full-time postgraduate ITT student and have an adult who depends on you financially. 

The adult can be a partner or another adult who depends on you financially, but they can’t be a student or a relative whose income is more than £3,796 a year. 

You can’t get Adult Dependants' Grant for any grown-up children.

How Adult Dependants' Grant is paid

Adult Dependants’ Grant is usually paid in 3 instalments, at the start of each term. 

It’s paid directly into your bank account, usually at the same time as any other student finance payments.

You won’t need to repay this unless you’ve been overpaid or leave your course early.

Adult Dependants’ Grant will affect any income-related benefits and tax credits you may get.

1. On your main application for student finance, fill in the sections for applying for Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant. SFE will let you know if it needs more evidence to support your application.
2. SFE will send you a letter telling you how much student finance you’re able to get, including any Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant.
3. SFE will pay any Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant you’re entitled to directly into your bank account in 3 instalments. This will usually be at the same time as any other student finance you get.

You can apply for Childcare Grant (CCG) online as part of your main student finance application.

If your application is approved, you’ll get a CCG entitlement letter from SFE and an email from the Childcare Grant Payment Service (CCGPS). CCGPS are a recognised government partner who pay the Childcare Grant. 

They’ll send you an invitation by email to set up an account with them, where your Childcare Grant will be shown as a balance. Here you can use your Childcare Grant balance to pay your childcare provider directly.

When you’re applying for dependants’ grants, you’ll be asked to submit additional evidence so SFE can make sure you get all the student finance you’re entitled to. 

Examples of this are listed below for each grant.

• Evidence that the child depends on you

A copy of your most recent Tax Credit award notice, Universal Credit award notice or Child Benefit award notice. This must be in your name and must list each of your dependent children. It should be dated no more than one year before the date of application or start of your course, whichever is earlier.

We can accept downloads or screenshots from your Universal Credit account or your GOV.UK account.

If your child doesn’t live with you but is still financially dependent on you, you should submit copies of evidence to show this. For example, evidence of Child Support Agency payments, payments to an ex-partner, or a solicitor’s letter or legal papers confirming the shared custody agreement.

For dependent children over the age of 20 who are still in full-time education, you should submit a letter, on headed paper, from the school, college or training organisation confirming the child’s attendance.

If you have dependent children who are no longer in education, you should submit a letter explaining why your child is still dependent on you. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

If you’re applying for Adult Dependants’ Grant for your partner, you don’t need to submit any additional evidence when you complete your application. This is because your dependant will already be giving their financial details as part of the application process. SFE will check these details with HM Revenue & Customs, but may contact them later and ask for copied evidence of the details given.

If the adult dependant is not your partner, they’ll be asked to submit evidence of any taxable income they had in the last full tax year, for example for students studying on a course starting from August 2025, SFE will ask for income from 2023-24. 

They should submit copies of documents, such as P60s, week 53 or month 12 payslips, or a letter from their employer. If the adult dependant’s income has dropped by 15% or more since the last full tax year, you should also submit a letter giving details of their expected income during the current tax year, and SFE will contact you to ask for evidence at the end of the year.

If you’re a continuing student applying for dependants’ grants that you’ve been assessed for in previous academic years, you won’t have to submit any additional evidence. However, if your circumstances have changed, or you’ve had another child, you’ll be asked to submit evidence to support this.

If any of your details change after you've applied for dependants’ grants, please contact SFE to let them know as soon as possible.