Baby, Child and Family Support
Money and Essential Support for Families
Child Benefit and Universal Credit, Healthy Start, free school meals, help with uniform, food, clothing and heating, grants and emergency assistance, and child maintenance.
Start here
Check everything at once, rather than one thing at a time
Families often claim one form of help and miss several others, because each has its own form and its own rules. A free benefits calculator takes around ten minutes and checks them together, and a Citizens Advice adviser can go through it with you.
Some help comes from the government, some from your council, and some from charities. All three are worth checking, and asking for help does not affect your children’s schooling or your standing with any service.
If you have no money for food or heating today
- Ask your council about its local welfare or household support scheme — most can give same-week help.
- Ask your child’s school: many hold uniform, food and equipment support quietly.
- Contact a food bank. Some need a referral from a school, GP or adviser, which they will explain.
- Tell your energy supplier if you cannot top up a prepayment meter. They must offer support.
- Ring a free debt charity before borrowing from a high-cost lender.
- Never water down formula milk. Speak to a health visitor or food bank instead.
Choose the help you need
Open the section that matches your situation
Each heading row below is a button and opens the information underneath it.
Child Benefit and Universal Credit
- Child Benefit can be claimed for a child under 16, or under 20 in approved education or training.
- Claim as soon as you have registered the birth, because backdating is limited.
- Claiming also protects National Insurance credits towards a State Pension, so it is worth claiming even if a high-income charge applies.
- Universal Credit may include amounts for children, childcare, housing and disability.
- Report changes promptly: a new baby, a partner moving in or out, a change in hours or a move.
- Ask about an advance payment if you are waiting for a first Universal Credit payment, and check how it is repaid.
- Free help with claims and reviews is available from Citizens Advice and welfare rights services.
Healthy Start and help with milk, food and vitamins
- Healthy Start is a prepaid card for eligible pregnant women and families with children under four in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- It can be used for cow’s milk, infant formula, fruit, vegetables and pulses, and for free vitamins.
- Scotland runs its own Best Start Foods scheme with separate rules.
- Apply online; a health visitor or midwife can help if you are unsure whether you qualify.
- Ask your health visitor about local milk and food support if you are not eligible but are struggling.
Free school meals
- Eligibility depends on where you live and your benefits or income, and the rules differ across the UK.
- Infant-aged children receive free school meals automatically in some parts of the UK regardless of income.
- Apply through your council even where meals are already free, because it brings extra funding and other help to the school for your child.
- Registering can also unlock uniform grants, trip subsidies and holiday food schemes.
- Ask the school office if you are unsure — they process applications regularly and it is treated confidentially.
School uniform help
- Some councils offer school clothing grants, and the rules vary by area and nation.
- Schools should keep branded items to a minimum and must consider cost, so ask what is genuinely required.
- Many schools and parent groups run free uniform exchanges, including shoes and coats.
- Ask about help with PE kit, school shoes, bags and equipment as well as uniform.
- Local charities and community groups often help at the start of a school year.
Food, clothing, heating and household essentials
- Council household support schemes can help with food, energy and essential items.
- Food banks, community pantries and social supermarkets operate across the UK, with different referral routes.
- Baby banks provide clothes, cots, prams, nappies and formula in some areas; a health visitor or school can refer you.
- Energy suppliers must offer help if you are struggling, and some run trust funds that clear arrears.
- Cold weather and winter fuel payments are paid automatically to eligible households in some circumstances.
- Charities can sometimes fund a cooker, fridge, washing machine or beds.
Grants and emergency assistance
- Charitable grants exist for families, disabled children, bereavement, and specific occupations or trades.
- A grants search tool will match your circumstances; there is no charge for using one.
- Budgeting Advances and Budgeting Loans can help with essential one-off costs for people on certain benefits, and are repaid from future payments.
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own crisis and discretionary schemes.
- Apply with evidence and a clear description of what the money is for, and ask an adviser to check the form.
- Never pay a company to apply for a grant or benefit on your behalf.
Child maintenance
- Child maintenance is money towards a child’s everyday living costs from the parent who does not have main day-to-day care.
- A private family-based arrangement is free and can be changed by agreement.
- The Child Maintenance Service can calculate, collect and enforce payments, and charges may apply.
- Fees and application requirements differ if domestic abuse is involved — tell them, because exemptions exist.
- Maintenance does not usually affect benefits, but check before assuming.
- Keep a record of payments, and get advice early if payments stop.
Trusted UK sources for family money help
- GOV.UK – Child Benefit (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK – Universal Credit (opens in a new tab)
- NHS Healthy Start (opens in a new tab)
- Turn2us – benefits and grants (opens in a new tab)
- Citizens Advice (opens in a new tab)
- MoneyHelper (opens in a new tab)
- StepChange – free debt advice (opens in a new tab)
- Trussell – find a food bank (opens in a new tab)
Important information
Sixpence Support UK provides general information and signposting only. We do not decide entitlement and cannot make payments. Benefit and grant rules, amounts and eligibility differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and change over time, so always check the current official guidance or take free advice before relying on any figure.