Financial support for parents in education

somnerd13

My partner is currently debating whether to go to college and train as a teaching assistant, building on here current experience in childcare/early years education (see below). However we're unsure whether we'll be able to afford for her to do this due to what it will cost to put our kids in nursery.

We're both 26, I'm currently working and she is not as she has been looking after our children, who are 1 (2 next week) and 4. OH did previously go to University (18-20 yrs) however she did not complete her course due to a variety of personal circumstances at the time, including her dad dieing. Since this time however she spent two years working (two jobs - one voluntary, one paid), before going on maternity leave. She has since undertaken an Open University course, at her own expense, and qualified for a diploma in Health & Social Care (Children). She has also worked voluntarily for the past year in a local creche at a workshop for parents wishing to gain skills to help them get a job.

Should OH go to college, she will spend half a day there studying (as well as home study), and two days a week doing an unpaid work placement at a local school . This is where the problem lies. Our youngest will have to go to nursery for 2 and a half days a week, which will cost in the region of £110 per week. Our 4 year old will be at school 9-3 however will need wrap-around care (breakfast and after school club) on a couple of days, costing £40 per week. The total monthly cost of this childcare will be around £600. This is a fair chunk of our monthly income.

I currently earn around £26,000 so we receive no Working Tax Credit (WTC) and some Child Tax Credit. Should my partner start her college course this will not change. Unpaid voluntary work does not count as work for the purposes of WTC, therefore will not increase what we receive nor allow us to claim for the Childcare element of WTC. To me that makes no sense - we'd receive support with childcare if she was in paid employement, but because she is doing an unpaid placement, no support is available.

The college themselves have some sort of support fund (DSF) that can be applied for to provide financial assistance. Having looked at their documentation it states that they do not offer this to people who's household income is over £25,000. However when my partner spoke with the finance department at the college, they said that using this fund they could provide us with 50% of our childcare costs, as we were an exceptional case with high childcare costs. I don't quite understand this - our childcare costs are roughly average where nursery fees are concerned.

The problem with this is that they can't confirm this in writing until we apply for the support, but we can't apply for the support until my OH enroles at college, but OH can't enrol at college until childcare is sorted, and childcare can't be sorted until it is paid for. Also OH doesn't want to enrol at college only to find they can't assist us with childcare costs and have to subsequently drop out.

I've looked in to the childcare vouchers scheme, where childcare costs are taken direct from my salary before it is taxed, and doing this I can save around £70 a month, though I'm not sure how this would affect our eligibility for the DSF, or how us receiving DSF support would affect the childcare vouchers.

Unfortunately we don't have the option of family assisting us with childcare - my parents both work full-time during the week, and so does OH's mum.

Best case scenario I can see is that receiving the DSF (which is unconfirmed) and the childcare vouchers, we'd be looking at still having to pay roughly £230 per month. This is obviously much lower, though it's still a fair chunk of a monthly income for a 2 child family with one income. I'm certainly not complaining about this, but the DSF appears to be there for people in hardship and as I've said, despite their own guidelines saying we'd get nothing, we're being told we've actually get quite a bit, but they can't confirm this.

I can't seem to find anything else in regards to any specific financial support for parents in further education, is anybody here aware of anything? I just find it odd that there doesn't appear to be anything specifically in place to support parents who wish to do a part-time course to allow themselves a better career opportunity.

xylophone

Assuming that you are at home in the evenings, would it be possible for your wife to obtain some working hours then?

This would enable her to build up a college fund and perhaps go next year?

Would you be any better off in terms of tax credits if you paid more into your pension and thereby reduced your taxable income?

somnerd13

xylophone wrote: »

Assuming that you are at home in the evenings, would it be possible for your wife to obtain some working hours then?

This would enable her to build up a college fund and perhaps go next year?

Would you be any better off in terms of tax credits if you paid more into your pension and thereby reduced your taxable income?

Thanks for your reply.

With regards to her getting a job and building up some cash, we have discussed this and it is an option, though not a perfect one. The difficulty with her doing so is that I don't work on a 7 day system like most people, I work on a 10 day system - 2 earlies, 2 lates, 2 nights, 4 rest days. I'm also not guaranteed to finish on time, and often get called in on rest days - I'm a Police Officer so can not refuse without good reason.

Any job she took would need to be able to cater for this, which limits her massively as these jobs are few and far between. Either that, or it would have to be bank staff so she can choose when she is available, and as such is not a guaranteed income.

I don't think my pension scheme allows for extra contributions, but even so would the increase in tax credits not be offset by the increase in pension contributions?

princessdon

There is no childcare funding for placement hours, as you have discovered for class based time there is funding.

You are correct you are over the limit but as childcare can be removed it then brings your salary under the £25k if that makes sense.

As thus funding is governed by the college this will be down to them how much if any they pay. They are given a lump sum and informed to "use it wisely and fairly", so they have the right to deal with as they want. For eg tomorrow they may receive 20 requests on a lower income than you so reduce their contribution.

You are best working with them and getting your forms in ASAP as you cannot be formally considerd until you complete the support forms and provide proof of income and expenses.

belowtheline2013

We were in a similar situation. My OH lost his job last August and wanted to go to college to finish a HND he had completed last year but we were knocked back for the funding.

We have a 1 and 3 year old and now both work (OH 25k, me £9k) and pay childcare of £180 per week which is mostly paid by Tax Credits. I'm doing an Open Uni degree which was covered by a part-time fee grant based on my income only.

Jobseeeker

Has she tried just getting a job as a teaching assistant without doing the college course? she has experience in childcare and her own children.

pukkamum

Jobseeeker wrote: »

Has she tried just getting a job as a teaching assistant without doing the college course? she has experience in childcare and her own children.

I concur with this, with the qualifications she already has she can get a level 2 teaching assistant paid job and do her level 3 part time at colleges, a lot of schools will fund this and give time off to attend college.
I have a btec which allows me to go in at level3.

somnerd13

It's the level 3 that she will be starting.

pmlindyloo

Some really useful information here about gaining qualifications whilst working.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/teachingassistant.aspx

somnerd13

belowtheline2013 wrote: »

We were in a similar situation. My OH lost his job last August and wanted to go to college to finish a HND he had completed last year but we were knocked back for the funding.

We have a 1 and 3 year old and now both work (OH 25k, me £9k) and pay childcare of £180 per week which is mostly paid by Tax Credits. I'm doing an Open Uni degree which was covered by a part-time fee grant based on my income only.

I recently did a Tax Credits calculation based upon similar income to yours, and childcare costs of £150 p/w. The calculator said that we would receive, between now and April 2014, £100 Childcare WTC, and no WTC at all.

somnerd13

princessdon wrote: »

There is no childcare funding for placement hours, as you have discovered for class based time there is funding.

You are correct you are over the limit but as childcare can be removed it then brings your salary under the £25k if that makes sense.

As thus funding is governed by the college this will be down to them how much if any they pay. They are given a lump sum and informed to "use it wisely and fairly", so they have the right to deal with as they want. For eg tomorrow they may receive 20 requests on a lower income than you so reduce their contribution.

You are best working with them and getting your forms in ASAP as you cannot be formally considerd until you complete the support forms and provide proof of income and expenses.

That sort of makes sense - so in their eyes, my income would be £18800 based upon £26000 minus a year Childcare fees at £7200?

Oh well, not sure we're doing!