All the benefits parents could be entitled to over the school summer holidays

Last modified on Friday 30 June 2023

Eloise Hill

Content writer

With living costs through the roof, it's certainly worth claiming everything you can RN ... here's what you might be eligible for.

The summer hols are creeping ever closer, and with the cost of living crisis rumbling on, the 6-week break could prove to be a difficult time for many families struggling financially.

Research from Vodafone even recently revealed parents and carers spend up to £1,300 on entertainment for the kids over the break – which is sure to make a dent in most of our pockets!

Luckily, there's free help available that many parents are entitled to claim over the holiday, from additional childcare to baby groups.

So if you're in need of some extra support, check out the benefits and support you should definitely be claiming below.

And if you're already getting child benefit, Universal Credit or other benefits, the summer bank holiday might mean you'll likely be paid on a different date. Here's when you'll receive your benefits.

Families on benefits such as Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit will be entitled to the government's cost-of-living payment.

The payment is £900 in total, and families started receiving their first lot of cash – worth £301 – between 25 April and 17 May.

Households are set to receive the next 2 instalments – of £300 and £299 – later this year and early next year.

Find out more about the cost of living payments for 2023 here.

If you live in England and have a 3 or 4 year old, you'll already be entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week.

Working parents can double this to 30 hours a week, as long as you're earning at least National Minimum Wage and working 16 hours a week or more.

Although the 30 hours are only available for 38 weeks of the year (term-time only), some childcare providers may let you spread less hours per week over more weeks of the year – a huge help for spreading costs.

Not only that, but the government recently announced that, from June 2023, there'll also be a massive cash boost for parents to cover childcare costs.

From 28 June 2023, parents on Universal Credit are able to claim up 47% more in childcare costs. Find out more here.

The relatively new Tax-Free childcare scheme lets working parents pay money into an online account, which the government tops up.

Every £8 paid into an account will have an extra £2 added on top.

Those eligible can receive up to £500 every 3 months, which works out as £2,000 a year per child.

And if you have a child with a disability, you can claim up to £4,000 maximum.

The money in your account needs to be spent on a registered childcare provider, e.g. after school clubs or nurseries.

Millions are missing out on claiming this so find out if you're entitled to tax-free childcare here.

You can claim child benefit if you're responsible for someone aged under 16, or under 20 if they're in approved education or training.

Families can claim the full amount of child benefit if one partner earns less than £50,000 per annum.

From April 2023, parents or guardians will receive £24 per week for their first born child, and then £15,90 each for any other child.

Find out more about child benefit amounts here.

Before stocking up for the new term, it's worth checking whether you qualify for the school uniform grant.

You may be able to get up to £150 per child to cover uniform costs if you receive certain benefits.

You can find out more about the grant and whether you qualify here.

Parents are able to apply for £120 free money to help them towards the costs of school holidays.

The help comes via the Household Support Fund which is awarded directly to local authorities, and it is then up to them to decide how to best spend it, and where it is most needed in local communities.

Some councils are allocating money from the fund to hard-up parents who are struggling with the additional costs of having their kids home from school during the holidays.

In other areas of the country, local councils are giving away air fryers and slow cookers.

Find out more here.

There's no doubt food bills go up once the kids finish schools ... all those snacks and meals to make soon add up.

Helpfully, thousands of families can nab up to £150 of free supermarket vouchers to help cover food and other essentials under the Household Support Fund.

Depending on your council, the support may be offered in vouchers, cash, or discount codes.

Your eligibility, how much you'll get, and how you'll receive the vouchers will depend on where you live.

Find out more about the vouchers and whether you qualify here.

During the pandemic, Marcus Rashford helped extend free school meals to school holidays - a huge help for parents struggling to feed their kids over the long summer break in particular.

Some councils have now closed the scheme but still pay out a one-off payment for low income families, via the Household Support Fund, working out at approximately £50-80 per child.

If your child qualifies for benefit-related free school meals, they may be eligible for free holiday club provision.

Find out if you're eligible to use the government-funded Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) here.

Sure Start Centres help provide disadvantaged parents and children under 4 with support, advice, activities and childcare.

Depending on whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, you can use different websites to find a Sure Start Centre.

The scheme also provides a one-off £500 maternity grant to contribute towards new childcare costs.

However, if you live in Scotland, you'll need to apply for a Pregnancy and Baby Payment instead.

Under the Healthy Start scheme, parents can receive money for vegetables, fruit, milk, baby formula, and vitamins.

Every voucher is worth £4.25 per week and gets issued to a pre-paid card.

Parents with a child under 1 can claim 2 vouchers per week.

Although most people need to be claiming certain benefits to qualify for the scheme, anyone more than 10 weeks pregnant and under 18 will receive the money until the baby is born regardless of other benefits.

If you live in Scotland, you'll need to apply for Best Start Foods instead of the Healthy Start scheme.