Can someone advise me on childcare costs for students?

[DaydreamBeIiever]

I’ve just enrolled in college to study an access course which means that DS is going to have to go into childcare. I was told when applying that there is a government grant to help with the cost of childcare, however yesterday I learned that the threshold for this is £25k net (about £32k gross) and DH earns about £52k gross (but our mortgage and the cost of his commute takes an enormous chunk out of that). I can apply anyway but chances are I won’t get any help.

We looked into the tax-free childcare account scheme, for which the threshold is £100k, but apparently we’re not eligible for that either as I’m not in full time employment or receipt of benefits. Apparently being in full time education means nothing.

So is that it then? Do we just get stumped with paying full whack for our childcare when families with nearly double our household income can at least get tax relief? Or am I missing something?

How old is your DD?

DS*

@Mynotsoperfectlittlefamily he’s 10 months.

Unfortunately I had a similar circumstance and did have to pay for all childcare myself. You will get 15 hours free when he is 2 years old but that is still a long way off. With an access course you shouldn't be in that much, see if you can get a timetable to work out how to have him in childcare as little as possible. Childminders are also often cheaper

Unfortunately I don’t think there is any other help available with such a high salary. Your college might have nurseries but likely for lower incomes if they have one. Once your DS turns three you can get some government funded free hours.

Gotta say, it’s doesn’t feel like “such a high salary” when you consider that if I was earning £48k we’d be eligible for tax relief...

@Mynotsoperfectlittlefamily

Unfortunately I had a similar circumstance and did have to pay for all childcare myself. You will get 15 hours free when he is 2 years old but that is still a long way off. With an access course you shouldn't be in that much, see if you can get a timetable to work out how to have him in childcare as little as possible. Childminders are also often cheaper

You only get the support for 2 year olds if you are either on benefits or have an extremely low income. OP wouldn't qualify. She will get the 30 hours once her child turns 3.

I'd check if there's an onsite nursery at your college or uni. Not only will it be more convenient, it's usually the cheapest option. Plus, see if you can find out the hours you'll need to be in a classroom. When I did my degree, I only had to be in about 6 hours a week, and a lot more teaching will be online right now.

@Mynotsoperfectlittlefamily I’m looking at childminders who live close to the college so I can keep the hours as low as possible, but we’re still looking at about £500 a month plus travel costs which we’ll just have to magic out of nowhere...

There’s no on-site nursery at all unfortunately. I’ve worked out I’ll need 20.5 hours a week childcare (it’s all in class at the moment, no remote learning at all) and the cheapest childminder I’ve found within walking distance of the college is about £6/hr

That was to @nevermorelenore

You may not think it’s a high income but it is compared to a lot of people. You’re not going to get any help on that salary, unless you are working and therefore getting the tax free childcare (because you are paying tax)

I just think it’s BS that families where both parents work can bring in £99,999.99 a year and get tax relief, but where one parents earns about half that and one is a student, we get absolutely fuck all.

Do they get tax relief? Or do you mean child allowance? We are in a similar situation (over 50k, 1 student, too late for childcare vouchers) and get no help but in the long run I feel it will be worth it. It's better not to compare with others in life as there is always something that seems unfair.

You could try to get the student council tax exemption for you though, then you'd pay the single occupancy rate.

Its hard OP, but the point is its working as its designed to - the tax breaks for two people working is because the government actually wants to support two-income families. They don't want to encourage people to be students. Its not 'unfair' in the sense that someone hasn't worked out that the two people on 48k would be better off, they know that, its part of the design of it.

I guess the issue with students is to discourage people doing part time courses on paper for free/cheap childcare, but it does seem quite illogical as retraining is a huge part of how you get the two-income working households the government seem to want, but that's the reason for it anyway.

Agree with @HappyDinosaur - comparison is the thief of joy.

Choosing to go back into education might not seem like a luxury but it is - the reality is that some people just can’t do it, even though it will benefit them in the long run. Taxpayers cannot fund every single person who wants to do this (through the medium, in this case, of help with childcare). There has to be a cut off point.

Could your DH look at working from home part of the week to cut down on his commuting costs?

It is a higher income - average salary is £28k. People don't realise how low most peoples wages are

When I was a student nurse my husband earned just above the threshold. It meant I received no financial assistance with childcare and even better, was not eligible for the 30 hours free! It was a tight few years.

I did my Access course via distance learning - would that be possible for you? I had a baby at the time and just studied during naps and when she was sleeping, as I couldn't have afforded to pay for childcare.

We were in a similar situation and ended up having to wait until the kids started school, there was just no other way around it financially. What annoys me most of all is that there is a shortage of trained professionals in the area I'm studying. If we had support with childcare costs at the time, I would have completed my training and would be already be working in the profession at least five years now 🤷🏻‍♀️

Single parent of 3 and student here. I don't get the full amount paid, not even close. I was forking out £400 a month out of my student loan for childcare for the first 2 years. It is significantly less now my eldest is in Y8 and my youngest is in school.

Yup - had this too when my husband retrained. Luckily my ds was 3 but it did mean we were only eligible for 15 hours not 30 hours which sucked. No way round it apparently and it’s utterly illogical.

I know it seems hard but he is on a good wage and the vast majority of families will be sending children to nursery with a similar wage with none or very little financial support.

With a child that age retraining full time is considered a luxury.

Have you spoken to the college? They have bursary funds (though they will have criteria too).