Childcare costs at our Eastleigh and Hedge End Locations

If you are under 19 with childcare responsibilities, you can get help with your childcare costs through Care to Learn when you return to learning. As long as you use a registered childcare provider, you could receive up to £160 per child per week to pay for childcare and travel costs. Care to Learn will pay the money directly to your childcare provider and course provider.

If you know what learning you want to do and have been provisionally accepted by your learning provider, you should complete a Care to Learn application form. You can download these from the website or get them from the learning provider. You can also get a form in the post by ringing the helpline on 0845 600 2809.

If you haven’t chosen your learning or need help finding a course or appropriate childcare, you can send in an Enquiry Registration form. These can be found at the back of the Care to Learn booklets, available at Connexions Centres, learning providers or by ringing 0845 60 222 60. The Care to Learn team will then send you a letter with the name of someone who will be able to help you. This may be someone from Connexions or another person who works specifically with young parents. They will be able to give you help & advice and talk through any ideas you have for learning or childcare. You can also ring the helpline at any time if you have any problems or questions.

Once you have sent in your full Care to Learn application form, the team should let you know within 5 working days whether your application has been approved. Receiving money from Care to Learn will not affect your benefits or allowances and you do not have to be on benefits in order to apply.

To help you find approved, registered childcare in your area, you can contact Childcarelink on 08000 96 02 96, or ring the Hampshire Children’s Information Service on 0845 602 1125. They can provide you with lists of childcare providers in your local area. (For Isle of Wight, the organisation is FIZ, on 01983 821999.) If you are under 18 and pregnant, or under 18 with a baby or for advice and information on employment-related issues – contact Working Families. For publications please contact National Childbirth Trust.

Healthy Start Vouchers allow for the purchase of milk, fresh fruit and vegetables or infant formula milk from registered shops (most supermarkets have signed up). Registered shops will display a red and green window sticker saying ‘Healthy Start Vouchers Welcome Here’. NHS Clinics will not be able to accept them. You would qualify for Healthy Start if you are pregnant and under 18 years old, you are pregnant and have a child under four years old and you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or you get Child Tax Credit (not Working Tax Credit). Healthy Start vouchers are worth £2.80 a week if you are pregnant, £5.60 a week for each baby aged under one and £2.80 for each child aged over one and under four. All pregnant young women or young mums who are already in receipt of benefits will automatically be transferred over to the scheme. However, all new applicants will need to complete the application form (and professionals need to complete Part B of that form for/with them).