Financial Help for Kinship Carers in England: Child Benefit, Free School Meals and More
The Financial Reality of Informal Kinship Care
Taking in a relative's child means taking on the costs of feeding, clothing and housing them — often overnight, often with no warning. Unlike foster carers, informal kinship carers in England receive no automatic allowance for caring for the child. The financial support that exists comes from a patchwork of benefits, some requiring applications and some needing transfers from the birth parent.
This guide covers the main financial support options for a relative caring for a child without a court order in England. For a full breakdown of every payment and allowance, the separate kinship financial help guide for England covers the topic in depth.
Child Benefit
Child Benefit is paid to the person responsible for bringing up a child under 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training). Only one person can receive Child Benefit for each child at any time.
If the birth parent is currently receiving Child Benefit and the child has moved to live with a kinship carer, the parent should contact the Child Benefit Office to report the change and say that someone else will claim. The carer then makes a new claim. If more than one person claims for the same child, HMRC decides who can receive the benefit.
HMRC may ask for evidence that the child is living with the carer — a letter from the child's school or GP confirming the arrangement is usually enough. If the birth parent disputes the carer's claim, HMRC will investigate and decide who is primarily responsible for the child.
From 6 April 2026, the rate is £27.05 per week for the eldest child and £17.90 per week for each additional child.
Free School Meals
Free school meals eligibility in England works on two tracks:
Universal infant free school meals: All children in state-funded Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free school meals regardless of household income.
Free school meals (Year 3 onwards): Eligibility depends on the household where the child lives — not the birth parent's income. From the 2026–27 academic year, every child in a Universal Credit household qualifies for a free meal. A Universal Credit household with annual earnings of £7,400 or less (after tax and excluding benefits) qualifies for targeted free school meals; above that threshold, the child qualifies for expanded free meals only.
Other qualifying routes include support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, the guaranteed element of Pension Credit, and the separate criteria for families with no recourse to public funds.
Transitional protections ended at the end of the 2025–26 academic year.
Apply through the local authority or the school. The school's admin team can usually start the process.
Free Download
Get the England Informal Kinship Consent Checklist
Everything in this article as a printable checklist — plus action plans and reference guides you can start using today.
School Uniform, Pupil Premium and Transport
School uniform grants: Some local authorities and schools offer grants or vouchers toward school uniform costs. There is no national entitlement — check your council's website or ask the school directly.
Pupil Premium: The Pupil Premium is additional funding paid to schools for each pupil who qualifies for targeted free school meals or has qualified for them in the past six years. Expanded free meals alone do not qualify a pupil for this linked funding. The school receives the funding, not the carer.
School transport: If the child's nearest suitable school is more than 2 miles away (under age 8) or more than 3 miles away (age 8–16), the local authority must provide free home-to-school transport. Extended rights apply for low-income households that qualify for targeted free school meals or maximum Working Tax Credit; expanded free meals alone do not qualify.
Housing Benefit and Council Tax
Housing benefit: A kinship carer on a low income who rents their home may be able to claim Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. Do not assume an extra bedroom will be included automatically because a kinship child lives with you; ask the council or Universal Credit team how the household and bedroom rules apply to your arrangement.
Council tax: A kinship carer may qualify for council tax reduction through the local council tax support scheme, which is income-tested. Some councils also offer discretionary reductions for kinship carers in financial hardship. Check your council's scheme — they vary by area.
Discretionary Kinship Allowances
Some local authorities pay a discretionary kinship allowance to informal carers. These are not standardised — some councils pay nothing, others match a proportion of the fostering allowance, and some offer one-off payments for specific needs (beds, car seats, school uniforms).
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 requires every council to publish a kinship local offer detailing what financial support is available. If your council has a kinship team, contact them directly. If not, start with the council's children's services and ask what discretionary support is available for informal kinship carers.
Where This Guide Fits
This blog post covers the main financial support routes for a carer navigating school, GP and daily life for a child in their care. The full kinship consent guide for England covers the legal framework for parental delegation, school admissions, GP registration and medical consent — the administrative steps that run alongside the financial ones.
Get Your Free England Informal Kinship Consent Checklist
Download the England Informal Kinship Consent Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.