Help for Disadvantaged Children

What help is available for disadvantaged children?

Families on low incomes can access a range of support for children, from emergency grants for essentials to ongoing statutory entitlements. Some help comes from charities, some from local councils, and some directly from central government. Knowing which type of support suits your situation makes applying much easier.

One thing to understand from the start: many charitable grants require a professional referral. This means a teacher, social worker, health visitor or support worker applies on your behalf. However, several schemes do allow families to apply directly, and statutory entitlements are always open to eligible households.

Grant Eligibility Finder

Tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application.

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Charitable grants for children and families

Buttle UK runs the Chances for Children grants programme. These provide tailored packages for children who have experienced a significant crisis. Support can include learning items such as laptops and books, or immediate household needs like beds and cookers. Families cannot apply directly. A frontline professional from a school, charity, housing association or public sector body must make the referral.

Family Action offers both welfare grants and educational grants. Welfare grants cover immediate domestic needs for families in hardship, while educational grants support further education students on low incomes. Again, welfare grants require referral from a statutory agency, charity or housing association. Educational grants are accessed through publicly funded FE colleges. Check the Family Action website for current opening dates.

Family Fund is different. Families raising a disabled or seriously ill child aged 0 to 24 can apply directly without a professional referral. Grants cover items such as appliances, clothing, sensory equipment, technology and family breaks. Visit the Family Fund website for eligibility details and current grant information.

The Vicar's Relief Fund, run through the Frontline Network by St Martin in the Fields Charity, provides small emergency grants to prevent homelessness. This might cover deposits, arrears or moving costs. Only paid frontline workers can apply on someone's behalf.

For a broader search, Turn2us maintains a free Grants Search tool listing thousands of charitable funds across the UK. Many are local or niche funds you might not otherwise discover. They also offer a Benefits Calculator to check you are receiving everything you are entitled to. Many grant making charities expect applicants to have claimed all available benefits first.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Council support and local welfare schemes

In England, the Crisis and Resilience Fund replaced the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2026. This DWP funded scheme is delivered by local councils and includes crisis payments for acute financial distress plus a housing payment element. Criteria and application routes vary by council, so contact your local authority directly or search GOV.UK for details.

Scotland and Wales have their own arrangements. In Scotland, the Scottish Welfare Fund provides Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants through local councils. In Wales, the Discretionary Assistance Fund operates as a national scheme.

School uniform grants work differently across the UK. England has no national scheme, but some councils offer discretionary grants, often linked to free school meals eligibility. Scotland and Wales both have national school clothing grant schemes. Check GOV.UK for guidance on help with school clothing costs in your area.

Statutory entitlements worth claiming

Free school meals are an entitlement, not a grant. From September 2026, eligibility in England expands to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, regardless of earnings. You can apply through GOV.UK.

The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a one off payment for families expecting a baby who receive qualifying benefits. This applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the Best Start Grant replaces this.

Healthy Start provides a prepaid card for pregnant women and families with children under four who receive qualifying benefits. The card covers milk, fruit, vegetables and infant formula. You can visit the Healthy Start website to apply.

Consider starting by checking your benefit entitlements using the Turn2us Benefits Calculator. Then explore charitable grants through their Grants Search. For emergency help, speak to a professional who may be able to refer you to schemes like Buttle UK or Family Action. For council support, contact your local authority about the Crisis and Resilience Fund or equivalent scheme in your nation.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Grant Eligibility Finder lets you tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application. Try it now →