Advice to Mature Student Family

MCLJ

Hi,

I am seeking some advice on financial support available to my family.

My wife has just started a Full-Time course at university and I currently work (40 hours pw, £20k a year) and we have four children aged 9, 8, 2 and 1 living with us.

We already claim our entitlement (Child Benefit, Tax Credits) and my Wife is receiving money from student finance for her course consumables.

However to enable me to go to work, our Childcare costs are in excess £800 per month, something we just can't afford.

Can someone please give me some advice as to where we stand? We have tried using benefits calculator but because my wife is a student, there are massive grey areas to what we can and can't claim.

I have worked ever since I left school at 16, but it honestly seems as though being a stay at home Dad would be better than working to pay someone else to raise my kids?

Advice please?

pmlindyloo

Have you investigated any of these options?

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/Typesoffinance/DG_171503

MCLJ

Applied/Applying for everything we can.

A problem we have is that a lot of these financial help schemes use total earnings from previous tax years to assess entitlement. We as a couple earned a lot more money in these previous years, so we are now finding it very difficult to receive help?

pmlindyloo

The application forms that I have looked at don't use the income from previous year. They ask for an estimation of earnings for the year in which your OH is studying.

Are you receiving help with child care as part of your tax credits?

From what I have read you can't receive help with child care as a student if you are already receiving it through tax credits.

By the way, you have informed tax credits of your change in circumstances haven't you?

Caz3121

There will be no childcare help through tax credits unless your wife is in paid work over 16 hours per week

Dunroamin

The Childcare Grant for students is definitely the way to go.

MCLJ

We have enlightened tax credits of our situation which is why they kindly withdrew the Childcare entitlement.

We also Applied for Childcare Grant but because the course she is studying is NHS funded, student finance declined our application.

We're struggling to understand what we can claim if I stayed at home as opposed to working...

FBaby

MCLJ wrote: »

We're struggling to understand what we can claim if I stayed at home as opposed to working...

That's got to be the ultimate answer to the problem.....

skipsmum

Its worth asking the uni she studies at - mine give discretionary grants for childcare where student finance and tax credits won't help.

Caz3121

MCLJ wrote: »

We're struggling to understand what we can claim if I stayed at home as opposed to working...

you would get child tax credits and child benefit and you would save £800 per month childcare. You would lose your income so would be worse off.

Did you look into this before your wife enrolled?

RAS

Hi

Your wife is entitled to reclaim child care as a full-time student.http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/Typesoffinance/DG_171503

Has she applied for this (up to £255 perweek)?

And the parental Allowance?