You can get up to: £180 per child per week if you live outside London £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’s attendance your school or college needs to confirm that you’re attending your course Travel payments go direct to your school or college - they’ll 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

You can get Care to Learn if all of the following apply to you: you’re a parent under 20 at the start of your course you’re the main carer for your child you live in England you’re either a British citizen or have a legal right to live and study in England your course qualifies your childcare provider qualifies If you’re 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 ‘reasonable grounds’ 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’s 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’re not eligible if: you’re an apprentice who gets a salary you’re doing a higher education course, for example at university or college

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. Apply online for Care to Learn .

You must give your learning provider either: a copy of the child’s birth certificate a letter confirming receipt of Child Benefit for that child Your childcare provider will only be paid after you’ve provided this. If you qualify You’ll 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’ll be paid. If you’re 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 updating your online application . Benefits Claiming Care to Learn will not affect your family’s benefits or allowances.

Care to Learn

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.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Help us improve GOV.UK

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey (opens in a new tab).

Cookies on GOV.UK

Care to Learn

Overview

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK