CCM6280 - Particular aspects: child care - definition of a child

A person is defined as a child until the last day of the week (i.e. the Saturday) in which falls the 1st September following that child’s fifteenth birthday (or sixteenth birthday if the child is disabled). So, for example, a child born on 8 June 1988 will be a child for the purposes of the child care element until 6 September 2003, or until 4 September 2004 if she/he is disabled.

A child is disabled if:

• a disability living allowance (DLA) or Child Disability Payment (CDP), Scotland (also known as Disability Assistance, Scotland) is payable in respect of him / her, or has ceased to be payable solely because she/he is a patient (a child is a patient if she/he is receiving free in - patient treatment in a hospital)
• she/he is registered as blind, or only ceased to be registered blind within the 28 weeks immediately preceding the date of claim

It will be rare for you to have doubts about whether a child is a qualifying child, but if you do, you can ask for evidence such as:

• birth certificates
• certificate of registration of blindness
• payments of disability living allowance

Note: Child Disability Payment (CDP), Scotland (also known as Disability Assistance for Children and Young People, Scotland), replaces DLA for children and young persons living in Scotland. Eligibility for CDP is for children and young people aged from 3 months to 18 years. CDP mirrors the lower and higher rates of DLA.