Working Tax Credits - Childcare in school holidays

[Fairy2015]

My child will turn 5 in the spring, when my income support will turn into Jobseeker's Allowance. I will then look for a job but how does the childcare element work as he'll be at school but then they break up for 6 weeks got summer hols.

I would need to take on a job that either is term time (hard to come by) or pay for childcare in the summer. Can working tax credits cover this??

You predict your child care costs for the year then they pay you the childcare element based on that. When the year ends and you know what you have paid you inform them. Sometimes this results in an over or under payment and they adjust as needed.

They will cover it as long as the childcare element change is for more than four weeks. I've had this out with them several times and been told I cannot claim for half term, Xmas or easter breaks (too short) but I can claim for summer hols. I just make sure they're booked in the first day they break up right to the last day.

My usual childcare element claim is just one after school club a week and I use different venues each holiday, depends on what the kids fancy, where their mates are going and when grandparents are free. So I can't predict my annual cost at the start of each financial year.

I only use a childminder on an ad hoc basis - for 2 or 3 days over half terms and about 10 days over the summer. The tax credit people told me just to average the cost out over the year to come up with a weekly cost. Have done this for a couple of years now with no problems. For example, this year I just had a £5 per week average.