My 4yo had a brain tumour - can I claim any kind of carers allowance?

[RedSauceSpaghetti]

She has started school for an hour or so per day and is doing really well on the whole but she needs 1:1 help with lots of tasks and has to be carefully supervised in the early years classroom due to general 4 year old clumsiness/enthusiasm which puts her at risk of head injury through them falling on her/knocking into her etc.

She is unable to walk unassisted and has lost most function of her right arm (she is left handed). School are applying for high needs funding for her so that they can supply the help she needs (which I am currently supplying). This won't come in until January at the earliest.

We have almost 2yo twins at home who are looked after by my husband while I am at school in the mornings. He has arranged to work flexibly for now but he can't sustain this level of part time working until January and beyond, especially as he is regularly off for childcare while I take DD to various appointments and physio etc. plus he had a lot of time off when she was in hospital.

Really, we need to send the twins to a childcare setting for the mornings until school funding kicks in but we don't have the finances to do so. Am I able to claim anything to put towards this along the lines of carers allowance or similar?

@BlueMoon23 and @Q123R thanks for this suggestion. We literally relocated across the country 2 weeks before this kicked off and I have left messages for the health visiting team twice but heard nothing back. Technically all 3 of my small ones should sit under them. Worth knowing they might be able to help though. Perhaps I can see if I can go straight through the social care teams given the circumstances.

Look on your county council website under children and families. There should be a page somewhere for disabled children's social care, with contact details.

@FlowerTink thank you for sharing your story. That's exactly the sort of outcome we are hoping for for her!

@AnotherEmma thank you!

I claimed DLA and carers allowance as my daughters are adopted and both had various issues, not so much physical as behavioural and social, needing more supervision than the average child, etc. I used it to take some extra time off work and fund activities which would benefit them.
I would answer the questions based on her abilities now - whether she can walk unassisted, dress herself, feed herself etc - and don't feel guilty if she's improved by the time the money comes through. There will inevitably be bad days when she is tired or unwell, and although it sounds like she is doing amazingly well, you don't know if there will be long term effects. Basically anything that helps make life easier for her, you, DH and your twins. She might benefit from horse riding or dance or something in future and the money could find that. You might also qualify for a mobility car.
I too was diagnosed with a brain tumour a few weeks ago, but although I have applied for PIP I'm not hopeful. The other grants I've applied for probably aren't relevant to your situation but include a disabled persons bus pass and taxis to work under the access to work scheme as I've been stopped from driving.

It’s not an immediate solution but you might be entitled to help through UC for childcare for the twins if you get DLA/carers. workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/childcare-costs-and-universal-credit/

I’m glad to read she’s doing so well.