Fill in the Care to Learn claim form: guide for providers
Published 7 September 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claim-care-to-learn-or-vulnerable-bursary-funding-guidance-for-providers/fill-in-the-care-to-learn-claim-form-guide-for-providers
Before you claim, check:
- student eligibility
- childcare eligibility
- that the education provision meets Care to Learn (C2L) requirements
- that you have evidence to support the claim
You can claim funding for the full academic year, based on your assessment of student need.
You will need end-of-year reconciliation data.
When you are ready, use the funding claim form to make your claim.
Student funding
Enter the total number of students you wish to claim C2L for in the 2026 to 2027 academic year.
Childcare funding
Enter total eligible childcare costs only. Do not exceed the maximum amount allowed.
Do not include:
- registration fees
- travel costs
- summer retainers
- administration costs
These are collected separately.
Other costs
You can also claim:
- registration fees
- travel costs
- summer retainer costs
Select ‘Yes’ if you are claiming any of these costs.
Other costs details
Select all the categories of costs you want to claim for.
Registration fees
C2L will pay registration fees, up to a maximum of £80 per child.
This is a one-off payment and does not form part of the weekly maximum amounts.
You cannot claim the registration fees again for the same childcare provider in later academic years.
Do not include deposits.
Travel costs
Claim essential travel costs where childcare and education are at different locations.
Enter the total amount required across all students.
Summer retainers
Claim summer retainer costs only where both:
- a student needs them to keep a childcare place during the summer break
- scheme rules are met
Enter the total amount required across all students.
Administration funding
A 5% administration contribution is calculated automatically. No action is required.
Total funding claim
This shows your total C2L claim in the 2026 to 2027 academic year.
It also gives you the option to return to previous screens to amend your answers.
You do not need to make any entries on this page.
Declarations
When you have completed all data entries in the form, you must agree to the mandatory declarations.
Feedback
There are 3 optional feedback questions.
If you want to provide a response there is 3000 character limit, so be concise.
Check your answers and submit
Before submitting:
- check all answers carefully
- you can change answers using the change button
Then select ‘Submit’.
You can save a PDF summary if you want to, but it is not proof of submission.
Submission complete
This page confirms your submission and will give you a unique reference number.
It also provides a link back to the digital collection portal to either claim the vulnerable bursary or amend a submission.
We will send a confirmation email to the email address that you logged in to DfE Sign-in with.
This includes a link to download a PDF of your submission, which is valid for 6 months from the date of your submission. You must download a copy as soon as possible and keep it in your audible records.
Make a note of your unique reference number. We will not include this information in your confirmation email.