Wealden back-to-school payment: £50 a child, closes 8 Sept

Wealden District Council is paying £50 for each eligible child towards school uniform, shoes and equipment, and applications close at midnight on Tuesday 8 September. The fund is £100,000 and awards are made first come, first served, so it may close sooner. (Wealden District Council, 18 August 2026)

The money comes from the council’s Cost of Living Reserve rather than from schools funding. Councillor Daniel Manvell, the lead councillor for Housing, Benefits and Revenues, said the fund would “help up to 2,000 children and their families pay for these essentials”. At £50 a child, that is the whole pot. (Wealden District Council)

Applications opened on 18 August. There is no cap on the number of children in one application, but only one payment can be made for each child, and only one application per household. Payment is by BACS into the account named on the form. (Cost of Living for Residents; scheme FAQs)

Who can apply

The council’s conditions are that an applicant must:

• be 18 or over and live in the Wealden district with the child or children, in the same household
• have day-to-day responsibility for one or more school-age children
• receive Child Benefit for each eligible child, or, if they are a kinship carer, provide evidence the council accepts that the child ordinarily lives with them
• receive at least one other qualifying welfare benefit
• submit only one application per household

Child Benefit on its own is not enough. Nor is waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefit. The council gives both as examples of applications that do not qualify. (scheme FAQs)

The two benefit lists do not match

The council publishes the list of qualifying benefits twice, and the two versions differ.

The scheme page on the Cost of Living hub lists eleven qualifying benefits. The FAQ page lists eight.

Sources: Cost of Living for Residents and the scheme FAQs.

If one of those last three is the only qualifying benefit in your household, apply anyway. Say which page you are relying on. The scheme page is the one the council’s own news release sends readers to.

Which children count

The scheme covers school-age children in state-funded education. Home-educated children in the same age range are covered too. (scheme FAQs)

Children at private or independent schools are generally not covered. The council gives one exception: a disabled child with an Education, Health and Care Plan whose specialist placement is funded by East Sussex County Council.

Where two households claim for the same child, the council decides which one is eligible from the evidence. Shared care arrangements are assessed case by case.

What you need before you start

Applications without the required evidence “may be delayed or refused”, so gather it first. The council asks for evidence of:

• identity
• address
• the eligible children
• Child Benefit, or evidence accepted by the council of day-to-day responsibility
• another qualifying benefit
• bank account details

Applications are checked against Council Tax records, benefit evidence and duplicate claims, and the council says fraud prevention checks may be carried out. (scheme FAQs)

The form is at wealden.apply4.online, and the council asks applicants to use the quick code 658CAM. Anyone who cannot apply online can ask for assisted-digital or alternative support.

The deadline falls after term starts

East Sussex schools go back before the window shuts. The county’s calendar puts the summer holiday’s last day at Tuesday 1 September, and term 1 running from Wednesday 2 September to Friday 23 October. That same Wednesday is listed as the common INSET day, a staff training day, so check your own school’s first day for pupils. (East Sussex County Council term dates)

Term starts on the Wednesday and the fund closes the following Tuesday. Uniform bought in late August has to be paid for well before any payment lands.

What it means for you

• Apply now rather than in the first week of September. The pot is cash-limited and closes early if committed. The council states plainly that applying does not guarantee a payment.
• There is no right of appeal if the money simply runs out. You can ask for a review on two grounds: that the criteria were applied wrongly, or that evidence you sent on time was overlooked. A closed fund is not one of them.
• Do not both apply. Only one payment is made per child, and duplicate claims are checked. If parents live apart, agree who applies before either of you does.
• This is a one-off. The council calls it a one-off discretionary scheme and says it will review how it ran before considering anything for future years.
• Ask your school about second-hand uniform. The council’s own cost-of-living page notes that many schools run second-hand schemes or sale events, and suggests contacting the school directly.

Other help in the Crowborough area

The council’s cost-of-living page also lists food support near Crowborough. (Cost of Living for Residents)

The council also points families to East Sussex County Council’s free school meals service and its Crisis and Resilience Fund, and to Healthy Start for children under four.

See also our guide to Crowborough house prices and what’s on in Crowborough.