For many parents, the current cost of living crisis has forced them to make tough spending choices. And education expenses are no exception.
If your child needs extra support in Reading, maths, English or entrance exam prep, you might feel guilt that you’re balancing their learning needs up against other rising expenses.
But did you know that you can use childcare vouchers, tax-free childcare and company holiday schemes to pay for private tuition? Here’s our guide to unravelling the rules on childcare costs for tuition and how you could benefit from government support and other schemes.
What Financial Support Does the Government Offer to Parents?
You’ve probably seen the terms childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare before.
But if you’re unfamiliar with the small print, the most relevant fact is that these two different support schemes offer similar financial benefits. You can only use one, not both.
The government provides an online calculator to see which scheme will be most beneficial for you.
Let’s examine both in more detail.
Employer Childcare Vouchers
The childcare voucher scheme ended in 2018, so it is only an option if you joined the scheme before that date.
Childcare vouchers were designed for working parents and were administered via employers.
Parents would take a salary sacrifice and get that as a childcare voucher instead. That meant you wouldn’t pay tax on that part of your salary; a considerable saving if you pay for childcare regularly.
Employers also benefitted from this voucher setup. They save money on national insurance contributions.
As Ant Learning is registered with Ofsted as an official education provider, you can use childcare vouchers to pay for our private tuition packages for your child, saving you money.
Tax-Free Childcare
Tax-free childcare is the other money-saving scheme for working parents. It will help you cover the cost of various childcare needs, from day-to-day care to summer activity clubs.
Tax-free childcare is like a government savings pot that you pay money into each month. When you pay £8 into your account, the government will add another £2.
You can get a maximum of £2000 via this scheme. It’s a substantial way to save money on childcare costs for your family and worth signing up for, even if you don’t plan to spend much on childcare in the next twelve months.
And as with the childcare voucher scheme, you can also use this financial support option to save money on private tuition with Ant Learning, as we are an officially registered UK learning provider.
The other benefit of the tax-free scheme is that you can use it on top of additional government childcare support, such as the 30 hours a week of free childcare for three-year-olds.
Company Holiday Schemes
The company holiday scheme is a third helpful option for saving money. This allows you to use a salary sacrifice approach on your paid holiday.
You can use this tax-deductible work benefit to help cover the costs of things like our summer school programmes.
Other Ways to Save Money
Tax-saving schemes are a great way to reduce tuition fees, but they aren’t your only option. Here are other ways you can save money.
Group Tuition: You can choose group tuition instead of one-to-one. That is an excellent option for children who prefer a more sociable learning environment or have a naturally competitive spirit. Group tuition also encourages students to bounce ideas off each other.
Sibling Discount: We offer a 5% discount on siblings. If you have more than one child, you’ll probably want them to have the same tuition at some point. By arranging it in one go, you can save money.
Referral Discount: We offer a 5% discount on your child’s fees for every enrolled referral.
Speak to Your Child’s School About the Pupil Premium: The government pays schools a per-pupil premium when a child has additional support needs. You’ll probably know if this applies to your children as they may have personal support from an SEN teacher.
Tax-Free Investments in Your Child’s Education
Government-backed schemes offer more than you might expect, including childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare.
And it means you won’t have to choose between covering rising living costs and tuition costs to provide the support your child needs to excel at school.
Head here to book a taster session to determine which of our programmes is the perfect fit for your child.
