Cost of Living Support

LATEST NEWS - Summer Family Fun - free and affordable things to do this summer holiday 

Banish the boredom this Summer and check out our special SUMMER FAMILY FUN page with a selection of FREE and low cost activities for Families, Kids and Young People.

OR download our SUMMER IN KINGSTON leaflet.

Other Important Support 

Claims for Child Benefit are now online

You can now claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you and it can be backdated for up to 3 months.

Find out more on the Government website

Deadline 31 August - Extend your Child Benefit claim for your 16-19 age teen today 

It’s time for parents across the UK to extend their Child Benefit claim if their 16-19-year-old is staying in full-time non-advanced education or approved training. 

HMRC sent letters between 24 May and 17 July to parents, explaining how to extend their claim. If you haven’t received a letter yet, there’s no need to worry. You can still extend your Child Benefit via the HMRC app or online where eligible.

Child Benefit is vitally important to families, you need to let HMRC know by 31 August if your teen intends to stay in approved education or training. 

Extending your Child Benefit ensures you won't miss out on any payments from 31 August. If your child changes their mind about further education or training, you can simply let HMRC know online or in the app as needed.

For parents who can’t extend their Child Benefit online, you can still do so by post or by phone.

For more information go to the Government website

Helping your teens to claim their Child Trust Fund

If your child was born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, they may have a surprise windfall waiting for them! 

Child Trust Funds (CTF) are long-term, tax-free saving accounts – worth an average of £2,000. If you didn’t open the account, HMRC may have opened one on behalf of your child.
If your teen is 16 or 17, they can take over responsibility for their CTF account. Once your child is 18, they can access and withdraw the money from their account. 

If you don’t have details of their CTF account to share with them, they can ask HMRC who their CTF provider is by completing an online form. They’ll need the parent’s National Insurance number for this, which can be found in the HMRC app.

For additional information go to the Government website

All children 

Get up to date with children’s immunisations 

Childhood infections like measles and whooping cough are rising and if your child isn’t vaccinated, they’re not protected. 

The Summer holiday is the perfect time to catch up. So if you are not sure about your child’s status, you should check their red book or speak to your GP to see if they are missing any. ​
You can check out what is required at what ages on the nhs website at www.nhs.uk/childhoodvaccinations 

All childhood vaccinations are free. 

School age children

Free School Meals 

Primary school children in state-funded schools across London are receiving free school meals for the 2023-24 school year (September 2023 to July 2024), funded by The Mayor of London as an emergency cost of living measure. This has now been extended for the 2024-25 school year.  You can find out more on the Mayor of London’s website.

These children will receive their free school meal under the Mayor’s scheme automatically, but it is really important that parents and guardians continue to complete their school or borough’s registration form because a child may be eligible for extra funding for their school from the government, which is worth £1,300 per year.

All children from 3 to 16 years - You can apply for free school meals at any time. Check the details of eligibility and how to apply on the Kingston Council website.

Infants and pre-school 

NHS Healthy Start Card for under 4 years (and pregnant mothers)

A Healthy Start Card will help with buying healthy food and milk. You may be eligible if you have a child under 4 years and/or are more than 10 weeks pregnant and are in receipt of certain benefits (see below). 
Around one third of residents in Kingston who are eligible are not claiming this benefit every month - that means hundreds of thousands of ££s not claimed this year alone. 
What you could get:

• £4.25 each week for pregnancy from 10th week
• £8.50 each week for a baby from birth to 1 year old
• £4.25 each week for a child from 1 to 4 years old

The Healthy Start Card is credited with your entitlement and topped up automatically every 4 weeks, so a family with one child under 1 year and two children under 4 could get £68 a month credited to their Healthy Start card. 

Eligibility

You must be receiving any of the following:

• Child Tax Credit
• Income support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension credit
• Universal credit.

For more information visit www.healthystart.nhs.uk/

Free Childcare from 15 to 30 hours a week for 3 and 4 years old

There is a universal entitlement of 15 hours for all children of 3 and 4 years old, but this can be extended to 30 hours a week for working families who are eligible. 

To check your eligibility and apply on the government website, go to www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare.

Children's Centres support in the borough

There are many activities for parents and younger children, including midwife support, at our 4 children’s centres.

You can also contact them by phone:

• Kingston Town Children’s Centre  020 8481 0640 
• Chessington Children’s Centre     020 8397 2006 option 5.
• Old Malden Children’s Centre       020 8241 0837 
• Tolworth Children’s Centre            020 8339 9848 

For more information, contact: Sophie Hodges (07849 305143) or Siobhan Meacher (07784 006661), Lead Outreach Workers

Other resources for Children and Baby Clothes, Food and Equipment

Growbaby - is a Surbiton organisation that provides good quality, new and second-hand, baby clothes and equipment (up to 5 years), completely free of charge, to anyone who needs it, regardless of their income, background, or faith.  
Growbaby accepts baby clothes and equipment from anyone who chooses to donate; we simply ask that donors ensure that they are in good, clean condition. Find out more on the Grow Baby website. 

The Family Fund - Helps families with disabled children - if a child or young person has additional clothing needs, for example, if they go through clothes quickly, or their clothing is frequently damaged. Find out more on the Family Fund website.