Care to Learn

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1. Overview

The Care to Learn scheme can help with childcare costs while you study.

You must be aged under 20 at the start of your course.

The scheme is available for publicly-funded courses in England.

2. What you'll get

You can get up to:

  • 拢180 per child per week if you live outside London
  • 拢195 per child per week if you live in London

What it covers

Care to Learn can help with the cost of:

  • your childcare, including deposit and registration fees
  • a childcare taster session for up to 5 days
  • keeping your childcare place over the summer holidays
  • taking your child to their childcare provider

Payments

Childcare payments go directly to your childcare provider.

Before they can be paid:

  • your childcare provider needs to confirm your child鈥檚 attendance
  • your school or college needs to confirm that you鈥檙e attending your course

Travel payments go direct to your school or college - they鈥檒l either pay you or arrange travel for you.

When payments stop

Payments end when:

  • you stop attending your course
  • you reach the end of your course
  • your child stops attending childcare

3. Eligibility

You can get Care to Learn if all of the following apply to you:

  • you鈥檙e a parent under 20 at the start of your course
  • you鈥檙e the main carer for your child
  • you live in England
  • you鈥檙e either a British citizen or have a legal right to live and study in England
  • your course qualifies
  • your childcare provider qualifies

If you鈥檙e from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you might still be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020. The deadline to apply for most people was 30 June 2021. You can apply if you have 鈥榬easonable grounds鈥� for not applying by the deadline - for example, you had an illness or were the victim of domestic abuse.

Your course

Care to Learn is only available for publicly-funded courses in England. This includes courses that take place in:

  • schools
  • sixth-forms in schools
  • sixth-form colleges
  • other colleges and learning providers, including Foundation Learning
  • your community at Children鈥檚 Centres

Your learning provider can tell you if your course is eligible.

Your childcare provider

To qualify, your childcare provider must be one of the following:

  • registered with Ofsted
  • registered with a childminder agency
  • a school

They can be a:

  • childminder
  • preschool playgroup
  • day nursery
  • out of school club

Who cannot get Care to Learn

You鈥檙e not eligible if:

  • you鈥檙e an apprentice who gets a salary
  • you鈥檙e doing a higher education course, for example at university or college

4. Apply for Care to Learn

You must choose your learning provider and childcare provider before you apply.

You need to make a new application for each year you study.

Your childcare provider is paid from the beginning of your course if you apply either:

  • before your course starts
  • within 28 days of starting your course

If you apply after that, your childcare provider will only be paid from the beginning of the week that your application was received.

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5. After you've applied

You must give your learning provider either:

  • a copy of the child鈥檚 birth certificate
  • a letter confirming receipt of Child Benefit for that child

Your childcare provider will only be paid after you鈥檝e provided this.

If you qualify

You鈥檒l get a letter and a payment plan telling you what financial help you can get.

Your childcare provider will also get the payment plan to let them know when they鈥檒l be paid.

If you鈥檙e eligible for travel costs, your learning provider will be told about payments for this.

If your circumstances change

You must report changes to your:

  • personal details
  • childcare provider
  • hours of childcare
  • travel costs
  • learning provider

You can do this by .

Benefits

Claiming Care to Learn will not affect your family鈥檚 benefits or allowances.