GETTING the kids ready to go back to school is always an expensive time of year for parents.
But millions of families on Universal Credit could qualify for a host of freebies and discounts worth £1,000s.
EPDTB7 School pupils in uniform walking to school UKAlamy
Some parents could get cash support to help pay for their children’s school uniforms and others may qualify for free school meals.
If you can’t drive or struggle to ferry your kids to school they may qualify for free transport depending on your circumstances.
However, most kids can travel for free or at a discounted rate on local bus and train services.
Others could be eligible for free childcare and child benefit payments worth £1,000s every year.
Here are all six back to school freebies and discounts you could be eligible for.
1. School uniform grants – £100s
Families struggling with the cost of living can get £100s in free cash to help pay for school uniforms.
Local councils have the authority to provide parents with grants to help them buy skirts, trousers and more under the Education Act 1990.
But there’s no legal obligation for them to offer help so what you are entitled to can be a postcode lottery, plus you might not get any help at all.
Scheme eligibility and availability can vary depending on where you live so it’s worth checking what’s available where you are.
While there is no exact criteria for receiving a school uniform grant, they are typically available to people on benefits such as Universal Credit, jobseeker’s allowance and child tax credits.
Children who qualify for free school meals will usually also qualify for school uniform grants as well, so long as your council offers grants.
What you can get depends on where you live, as there’s no statutory duty to offer grants across the whole of the UK.
Meanwhile, households in Scotland can get grants worth up to £120 for each primary school-age child and £150 for every secondary school-age child.
In England, what you can get will vary depending on what council area you fall under.
The best thing to do is contact your local council to see if you can get any help, and then find out what the application process involves.
2. Free school meals – up to £500 a year
If you’re claiming certain benefits including Universal Credit, JSA and Child Tax Credit then your child might be entitled to free school meals.
You will need to apply through your local authority so that they can apply for extra funding from the Government, while some councils ask you to contact the school directly.
The exact amount you’ll get depends on where you are but ranges from around £2.15 to £2.50 per day, or around £400-£500 each school year.
Over the school holidays, many councils are giving out cash to help parents during the break – check out our guide.
3. Free school transport for those on low incomes – worth £100s
Kids can also qualify for free school transport so it’s worth checking with your local authority.
Those on low incomes or certain benefits, as well as those under eight who have no safe route home can qualify.
Children with special educational needs and disabilities or mobility problems are also entitled to free transport, no matter the distance.
Each local council has its own system – but it could be a free bus pass or a seat on a school bus.
To check if your children are eligible visit your local council’s website.
4. Free bus and train travel – worth £100s
Where you reside in the UK will also have an effect on who’s eligible for free bus travel.
Transport for London, which runs the city’s bus services, allows all kids aged between 0 and 10 to travel free of charge.
Children aged between 11 and 15 can also travel on buses for free as long as they have a Zip Oyster photocard.
In Scotland, everyone under the age of 22 can travel for free on buses with a Free Bus Pass.
Bus operators like Stagecoach and First Bus who operate services in different regions of the UK only allow children under five to travel for free.
Check with your local operator to find out if your children are eligible for free bus travel.
5. Free childcare – worth £1,000s
Parents of three and four-year-olds can claim 570 hours of free childcare a year, which equates to 15 hours a week.
Some parents can get 30 hours a week too, depending on their circumstances.
But from April 2024, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week.
At the moment, to qualify for 30 hours of free childcare parents need to be in work, earn a minimum of the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national living wage and earn less than £100,000 a year.
You can apply for 15 hours free of childcare through a nearby childcare provider or your local council.
Meanwhile, you can apply for 30 hours of free childcare on the government’s website.
And if you pay for additional childcare on top of the free hours you can claim the childcare element of Universal Credit to help with the additional costs too.
This element covers 85% of parents’ childcare costs and is capped at specific amounts.
The monthly capped amount of cash parents can claim back is £951 for one child and £1,630 for two.
Some parents can also get this element paid upfront if they’ve increased their work hours or started a new job.
6. Child benefit – worth £1,000s
You can get child benefit worth up to £1,248 a year if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they stay in education.
Child benefit is usually paid every four weeks, but you can have the money paid weekly if you’re a single parent or getting certain benefits like income support.
If that’s the case you can get
£24 a week for the first or only childOr £15.90 a week for each subsequent child
You can get the money paid into any account, apart from a Nationwide cash builder account in someone else’s name.
You need to apply for child benefit, which you can do online through gov.uk.
But only one person can get the benefit for the child or children, so you’ll have to decide which parent will get it.
The amount you’ll get for Child Benefit payments is set to rise in April, so you’ll get even more.
Just beware of the High Income Child Benefit charge that may start to apply once you start earning a certain amount.
If either parent is earning over £50,000 they have to pay the high income child benefit tax charge.
This means you pay back 1% of your child benefit for every £100 of income over this amount.
Once you reach £60,000 of income you have to repay the full amount.