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
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 maybe 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.
