These links will give you more information on ways to pay for your childcare.

All parents

• Free nursery education for 3 & 4 year olds
  All 3 & 4 year olds are entitled to a free part-time nursery place.
• Tax credits
  As many as 9 out of 10 families can get tax credits, make sure you claim.

Working?

• Childcare vouchers
  These are tax free payments from your salary. Your employer needs to sign up for this scheme. Note, this can affect the amount of tax credit you get.

Starting work?

• In Work credit
  For parents who have been on benefits for over a year and have recently started a job, you may be entitled to £60 a week on top of your wages and other benefits for a year! Contact your Jobcentre Plus now to find out more.
• New deal
  If you are a lone parent on a new deal programme, there may be financial support available for childcare or other costs . Contact your Jobcentre Plus adviser.

Studying or training?

• Students
  Help with paying for childcare whilst you study. Links to a range of schemes.
• Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work?
  For two parent families with an income of under £20,000 where one parent works, and the other parent wants to do a training course up to Level 3. (Not all courses count, they have to be funded by the Learning Skills Council).

Preventing a crisis?

• Targeted Childcare Places Project – preventing a family crisis
  If your family are having a difficult time, and providing free childcare for a child under 5 would prevent a major crisis, then this project may be able to help by paying for childcare for a short period. Your health worker, doctor or support worker needs to contact 020 8820 7590 to fill out an application form. (If social workers have a statutory duty to be involved then we wouldn’t fund a place ? then they should apply to the Children in Need fund.)
• Emergency childcare
  If you are at risk of losing your job or training course because of an emergency such as a bereavement, and some short-term help with us paying for childcare will help you keep your job/training, we might be able to help. This scheme ends in March 2009, or before if it runs out of money. Contact 020 8820 7008.

This information is provided by the Children’s Information Service.