Childcare Allowance (CCA)

If you pay for registered childcare during your studies, you may be able to get help towards the cost through Childcare Allowance (CCA).

You can only get CCA if you receive the NHS Bursary, and we’ll pay it in 3 termly instalments with your other payments.

Your eligibility

You’re eligible for CCA if:

you’re a medical or dental student
you receive the NHS Bursary
you have dependent children under 15, or under 17 if they have special educational needs, on the first day of the academic year

You’re not eligible if:

you only get the non means tested part of the NHS Bursary, or tuition fee support only
you get childcare support through Working Tax Credits, Universal Credit or another funding body
your childcare is fully covered through the government’s free education and childcare
you're on maternity leave

Free early education and childcare

All 3 and 4 year olds in England are entitled to a maximum of 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year. You can find more information about this on gov.uk’s 15 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds page.

Some 2 year olds are also eligible. You can find more information about this on gov.uk’s Free education and childcare for 2 year olds if you claim certain benefits page.

If you’re using these free hours for childcare, you cannot claim CCA for those hours too. You can still claim for any hours not covered by the government.

For example, your childcare costs are £100 per week. £30 worth [KL1] [KL2] of these costs are saved using the free childcare hours from the government. You should then declare your weekly childcare costs are £70 per week when you apply for CCA.

Childcare provider eligibility

To be eligible for CCA, you need to use a childcare provider who is approved or registered through:

Ofsted or the list of childminder agencies if it’s in England
the Scottish Care Inspectorate if it’s in Scotland
Care Inspectorate Wales if it’s in Wales
the local Early Years Teams if it’s in Northern Ireland

Your provider needs to give you their registration details when you apply for CCA.

Childcare through a relative

If your childcare provider is a relative, you may be eligible for CCA if:

your relative is a registered childcare provider
the childcare takes place somewhere other than the children’s own home
the relative also cares for other unrelated children at the same time

You cannot get CCA if your spouse, partner or civil partner is the provider even if they meet these criteria.

Childcare through a care worker or nurse

If your childcare provider is a care worker or nurse, you can apply for CCA if they’re registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and they look after your children in the children’s own home.

Childcare through a foster carer

If your childcare provider is an approved foster carer, you can apply for CCA if they’re registered with Ofsted.

You cannot claim CCA for children you foster and care for.

Childcare through a nanny or au pair

If your childcare provider is a nanny or au pair, you can apply for CCA if they’re registered with Ofsted (or its equivalent) and they care for your children in the children’s home.

Nannies and au pairs are sometimes not required to register with Ofsted. They need to register on the voluntary part of the Ofsted General Childcare Register to be an eligible provider.

Out of school clubs or third party care on school premises

If your childcare provider is an out of school club or a third party caring for your children on school premises, you can apply for CCA if they’re registered with Ofsted or its equivalent.

Some clubs, such as sports clubs, are not required to register with Ofsted. They need to register on the voluntary part of the Ofsted General Childcare Register to be an eligible provider.

We’ll not pay CCA for normal school education provided by a local authority or a religious or private school.

What you could get

We can contribute a maximum of 85% of your childcare costs per week up to:

£188.90 per week for one child
£323.85 per week for two or more children

CCA is means tested, so we’ll use your household income to calculate your entitlement.

We may ask for receipts to make sure we’re paying you the correct amount, so you need to keep receipts for all childcare costs you pay.

An example of what you could get

You have one child in registered childcare and pay £250 per week for 40 weeks. 85% of £250 is £212.50 per week.

This is over our maximum weekly contribution, so we’d pay you the full £188.90 per week.

£188.90 multiplied by 40 weeks is £7,556. This would be your maximum entitlement for the academic year.

This calculation is based on having no income to affect your entitlement.

How and when to apply

You can apply for CCA after you’ve applied for the means tested bursary element of the NHS Bursary and Dependants’ Allowance. When you apply for Dependants’ Allowance, we’ll ask if you want to apply for CCA.

You’ll then need to complete a Childcare Allowance application form (PDF: 279KB) and upload it to your NHS Bursary account.

Telling us about changes

Childcare changes could affect your entitlement, so you need to tell us as soon as possible if you:

change or stop using your childcare provider
want to add another childcare provider
want to add another child to your CCA claim

This is to make sure we pay you the correct amount of CCA.

You can tell us by applying for a Change of Circumstances through your NHS Bursary account. You may need to complete a new CCA application form.

Guidance

You can find out more about the Childcare Allowance in our guidance booklet

Help with Childcare costs for NHS Bursary Students (PDF: 1.24MB)

You can also watch a short YouTube video with information about CCA.