Help for families with children

Help with childcare costs

You can get up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). Find out more on the GOV.UK Tax-Free Childcare page.

If you need help with childcare costs for two, three and four-year-olds, visit Surrey County Council’s help with paying for childcare page.

Free school meals

All infant pupils are entitled to free school meals. Children in Year 3 and above (including secondary pupils) are eligible for free school meals if their parents receive one or more qualifying benefits.

If you think your child may be entitled to a free school meal, contact your school to apply. You can also read more about this on Surrey County Council’s website by clicking on the Eligibility for free school meals and pupil premium funding page. There is also advice on meeting the cost of school uniforms on the Paying for School Uniforms page.

Healthy Start

If you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 years old, you could get help to buy milk, fruit and vegetables.

If you qualify you get:

  • £4.25 each week of your pregnancy from the 10th week
  • £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old
  • £4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old

Visit the Healthy Start webpage to read more and apply.