Extra support for parents on benefits or low incomes

If you are on a low income or claim benefits, you could get extra help such as:

• Healthy Start Vouchers and Vitamins
• Sure Start Maternity Grant
• support for your child at school

These are on top of the benefits available to most parents and parents to be.

Use Benefits calculators to check exactly what benefits you might be entitled to.

If you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 years old, you can get a Healthy Start card if you’re:

• on some benefits
• or are under 18 and pregnant

You can use your card to buy basic foods like:

• milk
• fruit and vegetables
• fresh, dried and tinned pulses, peas and beans
• infant formula

Women and children can also use the card for free Healthy Start vitamins. Healthy Start vitamins are specifically designed for pregnant and breastfeeding women and growing children up to 4 years old.

Your midwife or health visitor will be able to tell you where you can get vitamins in your area.

You can get a Sure Start Maternity Grant of £500 if you get some benefits and there aren’t children already in your family. The grant doesn’t have to be paid back.

If there are already children in your family, you might still be able to get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if:

• you’re expecting a ‘multiple birth’ such as twins
• the child you’re caring for is not yours or your partner’s
• you’ve been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection and you have a child or children from before you arrived in the UK
• if you’re adopting or becoming a surrogate parent

If you’re on some benefits your child can get support at in their early education and at school, college and university.

This support could include:

• early years pupil premium, extra funding to help their early education
• pupil premium, extra funding to help their school education
• free school meals
• free school transport
• fund and grants at college and university

Find out more about support at school for low-income families.

Children who are in care, have been in care or have special educational needs or disabilities could also get some of this extra support.

In Buckinghamshire, there are lots of local support schemes that can also give advice or help with:

• food
• clothing
• furniture
• housing

Find out more about local support and charities