The Back-to-School Payment is a one-off discretionary cost-of-living support scheme. Applications are subject to eligibility checks and funding availability.
The Back-to-School Payment is a one-off £50 payment per eligible child to help low-income Wealden households with essential back-to-school costs such as school uniform, footwear, stationery, school bags and other necessary school items.
This is cost-of-living support for Wealden residents. The Council set aside funding earlier this year to help households facing financial pressure.
This scheme complements existing support for families, including East Sussex County Council’s Crisis and Resilience Fund and Holiday Food and Fun programme.
The £50 payment is designed to provide practical help while allowing the available fund to support as many eligible children as possible.
The scheme will close once the available funding has been fully committed. Applying does not guarantee a payment and all applications are subject to eligibility checks and funding availability.
The scheme is cash-limited and time-limited. Assessing complete applications in the order they are received is the clearest and fairest way to manage the available funding.
Applicants must:
- Live in the Wealden district.
- Be aged 18 or over.
- Have day-to-day responsibility for an eligible school-age child who ordinarily lives in their household.
- Receive Child Benefit for the eligible child, or provide evidence accepted by the Council that they have day-to-day responsibility for the child and that the child ordinarily lives with them. This provision includes kinship carers.
- Receive at least one other qualifying welfare benefit.
Further eligibility requirements apply. Full details can be found on the Council’s Cost of Living Support webpage: Cost of Living Support for Residents.
Households must receive at least one qualifying welfare benefit. They must also receive Child Benefit for each eligible child, unless the applicant is a kinship carer who can provide evidence accepted by the Council that the child ordinarily lives with them and that they have day-to-day responsibility for the child.
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Reduction
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Carer’s Allowance
- Attendance Allowance
Examples:
- Eligible: Child Benefit and Universal Credit
- Eligible: Child Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
- Eligible: Child Benefit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Not eligible: Child Benefit only
- Not eligible: waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefit
Further eligibility requirements apply. Full details can be found at Cost of Living Support for Residents.
The scheme covers eligible school-age children in state-funded education. Home-educated children in the same age range are also eligible. Disabled children in specialist placements may also qualify, including some placements funded through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Generally, no. The exception is where a disabled child has an EHCP and the specialist placement is funded by East Sussex County Council.
Eligible households will receive £50 per eligible child.
There is no maximum number of children that can be included in an application, provided each child meets the eligibility criteria. However, only one payment can be made for each child.
The application window runs from 18 August 2026 until midnight on 8 September 2026.
The scheme may close earlier if the available funding is fully committed.
Applicants will need to provide evidence of:
- Identity
- Address
- Eligible children
- Child Benefit, or evidence accepted by the Council that the applicant has day-to-day responsibility for the child and that the child ordinarily lives with them
- Another qualifying benefit
- Bank account details
The Council will check applications and supporting evidence before making payments. This may include checks against Council Tax records, benefit evidence and duplicate claims. Fraud prevention checks may also be carried out where appropriate.
The Council will assess applications as quickly as possible once all required information and supporting evidence have been received. If further information is required, applicants may be contacted before a decision is made.
Payments will normally be made by BACS directly into the named bank account provided on your application form.
Where this is not possible, the Council may issue a Post Office text payment.
Residents who cannot use the online application form will be able to access assisted-digital or alternative application support. Reasonable adjustments will be available where needed.
No. Only one payment can be made for each eligible child. Where more than one application is submitted for the same child, the Council will determine which household is eligible based on the information and evidence available.
Possibly. Where more than one household claims for the same child, the Council will assess the circumstances and determine eligibility using the available evidence.
Yes. Applicants may request a review if they believe the eligibility criteria were applied incorrectly or evidence submitted on time was overlooked.
There is no right of appeal simply because the available funding has been fully committed.
This is a one-off discretionary scheme. The Council will review how it operated before considering any future support.
The payment is intended as a contribution towards essential back-to-school costs, such as:
- School uniform
- School shoes
- Stationery
- School bags
- Essential travel costs
- Other items needed for school
The payment is not restricted to a particular supplier or retailer.
Full details of the scheme, eligibility criteria and wider cost-of-living support can be found on the Cost of Living Support for Residents webpage.
The payment is not intended to cover every cost associated with returning to school. It is a practical contribution to help eligible low-income households with essential back-to-school expenses while allowing the available funding to support as many families as possible.
The scheme is cash-limited, so awards cannot be guaranteed. Complete applications will be assessed in the order they are received while funding remains available.
The Council will check eligibility and supporting evidence before making payments. Applications may be refused and payments recovered where information is found to be false, misleading or incomplete.