The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2008

Childcare grant

43.—(1) An eligible student qualifies for a childcare grant in connection with his attendance on a designated course in accordance with this regulation.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the childcare grant is available in respect of an academic year in which the eligible student incurs prescribed childcare charges for—

(a) a dependent child who is under the age of 15 immediately before the beginning of the academic year; or

(b) a dependent child who has special educational needs within the meaning of section 312 of the Education Act 1996(1) and is under the age of 17 immediately before the beginning of the academic year.

(3) An eligible student does not qualify for a childcare grant if he or his partner has elected to receive the childcare element of the working tax credit under Part I of the Tax Credits Act 2002(2).

(4) An eligible student does not qualify for a childcare grant if the prescribed childcare charges that he incurs for his child are paid or to be paid by him to his partner.

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), the basic amount of childcare grant for each week is—

(a) for one dependent child, 85 per cent. of the prescribed childcare charges, subject to a maximum amount of £148.75 per week; or

(b) for two or more dependent children, 85 per cent. of the prescribed childcare charges, subject to a maximum amount of £255 per week

except that the student does not qualify for any such grant in respect of each week falling within the period between the end of the course and the end of the academic year in which the course ends.

(6) For the purposes of calculating the basic amount of childcare grant—

(a) a week runs from Monday to Sunday; and

(b) where a week in respect of which prescribed childcare charges are incurred falls partly within and partly outside the academic year in respect of which childcare grant is payable under this regulation, the maximum weekly amount of grant is calculated by multiplying the relevant maximum weekly amount in paragraph (5) by the number of days of that week falling within the academic year and dividing the product by seven.

(7) In this regulation “prescribed childcare charges” means childcare charges of a description prescribed for the purposes of section 12 of the Tax Credits Act 2002(3).

(1)

1996 c. 56; section 312 was amended by the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), Schedule 7, paragraph 23, the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31), section 140, Schedule 30, paragraph 71 and Schedule 31, the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21), Schedule 9, paragraph 56 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (c. 40), Schedule 1, paragraph 3.

(2)

2002 c. 21 to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(3)

Regulation 14 of the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Amount) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2005; as amended by S.I. 2003/701, S.I. 2003/2815, S.I. 2004/762, S.I. 2004/1276, S.I. 2004/2663, S.I. 2005/769, S.I. 2005/2919, S.I. 2006/766, S.I. 2007/824, S.I. 2007/2479) sets out the charges that are prescribed for the purposes of section 12 of the Tax Credits Act 2002.