Guidance

Students applying for Childcare Grant

The Childcare Grant process from the 2019 to 2020 academic year onwards

Applies to England

How we’ll pay Childcare Grant

We have worked with the Childcare Grant Payment Service (CCGPS), who have created an online portal to allow you to confirm your childcare costs directly with your childcare provider.

What is the Childcare Grant Payment Service?

The CCGPS is an online platform enabling parents to manage their Childcare Grant by authorising and sending payments to childcare providers electronically. CCGPS is administered by Wider Plan, a recognised government partner for the Nursery Milk Scheme. Wider Plan is also an employee benefits provider with extensive experience of working with parents and childcare providers through delivery of their childcare voucher scheme.

How to apply for Childcare Grant

You can apply for Childcare Grant online as part of your main student finance application. You’ll also have to submit some evidence – you’ll be told what evidence is needed when you apply.

Use the paper form instead if you:

  • have already applied for student finance but didn’t apply for Childcare Grant at the same time

  • want to apply for Childcare Grant for another child

You can download the form from the student finance form finder.

Use your online account to upload and submit the form or send it by post.

Student Finance England
PO Box 210
Darlington
DL1 9HJ

Once your application has been approved, you’ll be sent an entitlement letter telling you how much Childcare Grant you’ll get.

If you don’t already have a CCGPS account you’ll need to create one to start making payments to your childcare provider. You’ll get an email 10 days after receiving your entitlement letter telling you how to set this up. Your grant will be paid into this account. If you already have a CCGPS account, you just need to login to see your balance for the new academic year.

Paying your childcare provider

How and when to make a payment:

  • You’ll be contacted each time payment is requested. After care of your child has been given your childcare provider sends us a request for payment through the CCGPS.

  • You need to sign in to your CCGPS account, check that the amounts are correct, and approve it.

  • If you approve the costs submitted by your childcare provider, the payment will be taken from your Childcare Grant balance and paid directly to them. You might not use all of this, and any remaining balance will be returned to us.

You won’t be able to use your Childcare Grant to pay for advance payments such as deposit payments. This is because the Childcare Grant isn’t paid until after you’ve started your course and we’ve got confirmation of registration from your university or college.

Learn more about how much you could get.

Published 11 January 2019
Last updated 1 October 2021 + show all updates
  1. Removed the content explaining the specific process changes from the 2019/20 academic year, and updated the page to further explain how and when CCG payments will be made.

  2. First published.