Financial support and advice

All parents may find caring for a child puts a strain on their household budget. If you are caring for a child with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), this strain might be particularly large. Specialist equipment and services, transport, and extra day-to-day costs can all add up. You may also have had to cut-down on how much you work to provide support for your child.

In order to help you maintain financial security and deliver the best care for your child, there are a wide range of funding sources available. This section of the Local Offer aims to give you information that will help you apply for these funding sources.

Can I get benefits to help me care for my child with SEND?

There are a number of benefits you may apply for if you care for a child with SEND. Whether you are eligible and how much you receive will depend on your family’s individual circumstances. This may include your income, your caring responsibilities, and your child’s needs or disability.

Benefits that may be available to parents/carers of all children include:

  • Child Benefit – this is a benefit available to all parents with children aged up to 16 (or up to 20 if they continue in full-time education or training) and is paid at a standard rate per child.
  • Guardians Allowance – a top-up to the weekly child benefit payment for carers who are bringing up a child whose parents have died.
  • Universal Credit – a single benefit that is replacing several benefits that used to be awarded independently (including child tax credits, income support, and housing benefit) 

Additional benefits that may be available for parents/carers of children with SEND include:

  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – you may be able to claim this if your child (under 16) has a disability that impairs their mobility or requires much more looking after compared to a non-disabled child of the same age.       
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – this is a benefit that may be available to people (aged over 16) with a disability that impairs mobility and/or requires help with day-to-day life.  
  • Carer’s Allowance – a weekly benefit that may be available to people who are full-time unpaid carers of a person with a disability or medical condition.
  • Universal Credit – if you care for a disabled child, you may be eligible for additional funding through universal credit.
  • Disabled Students’ Allowance – your child may be entitled to contributions towards any specialist equipment or support needed to pursue higher education courses.  

For further information on the range of financial support you may be eligible for as a parent, please visit the Government’s website.

To calculate how much you may be entitled to in benefits, you can use the Turn2Us benefits calculator.

Can I get support towards childcare costs?

Support may be available to help you meet the costs of childcare. This includes:

Is there financial help to adapt my home?

If your child has a disability, you may find you need to adapt your home to make it suitable for their needs. Depending on your income, you may be eligible to receive a Disabled Facilities Grant to support you in paying for these adaptations to be made.

Adaptations that you could consider making with a Disabled Facilities Grant include:

  • widening doors and installing ramps
  • improving access to rooms and facilities – e.g. stairlifts or a downstairs bathroom
  • providing a heating system suitable for your needs
  • adapting heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use

Assessment and provision of the Disabled Facilities Grant is through the Local Authority. To be eligible for the grant you must:

  • have a disabled child (of any age)
  • own the property or be a tenant
  • intend to live at your property during the grant period (currently five years)

To speak with a council social work advisor about whether you might be eligible, or to make an application, please call 020 7641 1175, or use the grant enquiry form.

Are there any charities that can offer funding?

The following document provides you with a list of charitable organisations and trust funds that may be able to offer support for families of children with a disability or long-term health condition. Areas where they might be able to help include paying for equipment, therapy, holidays and household adaptations. 

Click here to download the list of charities. 

Please Note: The charities in the list are independent organisations. The council has no control over the support they choose to offer. We hope that by including this list it helps families access a valuable source of extra support that may be available. 

Personal Budgets

If you have a child with SEND and receive support from the Local Authority, you may apply to have money paid directly to you so that you can choose how it is spent across education, health and social care services. This is called a personal budget.

Please click here to find out more about personal budgets and direct payments.

Where can I go for financial advice?

There are several organisations and services that can provide advice on managing money and whether you may be eligible for financial support.

 

Independent Advice and Support ServiceInformation Advice and Support Service

Westminster Information Advice and Support Service (IASS) can advise you on the rights of carers and/or the rights of their children with SEND according to education, health and social care law. The IASS can tell you whether you may be entitled to any financial support and support you to apply. 

 

Citizen's Advice Bureau logoCitizens Advice Bureau

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) offer help and advice to everyone about managing money. They can also support with a wide range of other issues.

If you are a young person / adult with a learning disability, CAB have a specialist service to advise you on your finances.  

Turn2Us

Turn2us is a national charity that helps people in financial hardship gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services.

They can help you check what benefits you may be entitled to or looks for funds that might be able to give you a grant.



Related Links

  1. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children
  2. Carer's Allowance
  3. Contact's guide to money matters for parents of disabled children

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Related Advice

  1. Personalisation, personal budgets and direct payments
  2. White badge parking scheme
  3. Emergency help with money

Downloads

  1. List of charities who may be able to offer financial assistance to children with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
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