Stormont House School - Grants & Benefits

Parents & Carers

Grants & Benefits

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child who:

is under 16
has difficulties walking or needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability

They will need to meet all the eligibility requirements.

The DLA rate is between £24.45 and £156.90 a week and depends on the level of help the child needs.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children is a tax-free benefit made up of 2 components (parts). The child might qualify for one or both components.

Care Component

Care component	Weekly rate
Lowest	£24.45
Middle	£61.85
Highest	£92.40

Mobility Component

Mobility component	Weekly rate
Lower	£24.45
Higher	£64.50

To claim DLA for a child you need to be their parent or look after them as if you’re their parent. This includes step-parents, guardians, grandparents, foster-parents or older brothers or sisters.

If your child currently lives in England or Wales you can apply by either

printing off and filling in the DLA claim form
phoning the Disability Living Allowance helpline and asking for a printed form

The Disability Living Allowance helpline is:

Telephone: 0800 121 4600

Textphone: 0800 121 4523

Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 121 4600

British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit which has replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people between 16 and State Pension age.

PIP can help with extra living costs if you have both: a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition You can get PIP even if you’re working, have savings or are getting most other benefits.

You can get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if all of the following apply to you:

you are aged 16 or over
you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability
you have difficulties doing certain everyday tasks or getting around
you have had these difficulties for at least three months and expect them to last for at least another nine months
you live in Great Britain for more than 3 years
you are under State Pension age

There are two parts to PIP:

a daily living part - if you need help with everyday tasks
a mobility part - if you need help with getting around

Whether you get one or both parts and how much you get depends on how difficult you find everyday tasks and getting around.

To claim PIP, you need to:

Call to start your claim. You’ll then be sent a form that asks about your condition.
Complete and return the form.
You might need to have an assessment, if more information is needed.

Telephone: 0800 917 2222
Textphone: 0800 917 7777
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 917 2222
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Calling from abroad: +44 191 218 7766
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

For more information visit www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim

Short Breaks

Short Breaks are activities for children and young people with physical, health or learning disabilities. The offer provides free access to a range of school holiday, after-school and weekend services as well as the option of an Individual Budget Pre paid card.

Below are the type of activities Short Breaks will fund:

Holiday schemes
After school clubs
Adventure play
Buddying and befriending
Disability specific services
Support to access inclusive mainstream service

Hackney council works in partnership with Homerton to deliver "Short Breaks" services. Providing Short Breaks forms one part of Hackney's support offer to disabled children, young people and their families. You can read Hackney's Short Breaks Statement here.

To find out more about Short Breaks' offers and whether you can apply visit www.shortbreakshackney.com

If you are not a Hackney resident, most local authorities have a Short Breaks scheme which you will be able to find by searching Short Breaks followed by the borough you live in.

Family Fund

Family Fund is the UK’s largest charity providing grants for families on low incomes raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people.

They believe that all families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people should have the same choices, quality of life, opportunities and aspirations as other families. Beginning with those on low incomes, and considering all conditions against our own eligibility criteria (based on the social model of disability), they aim to make a difference to outcomes for disabled or seriously ill children and young people and the lives of the families raising them across the UK.

They support this aim by providing grants for essential items such as kitchen appliances, sensory toys, family breaks, bedding, tablets/computers, furniture and clothing. It can be a struggle financially, emotionally and physically for families raising a disabled or seriously ill child, and these grants help break down many of the barriers families face, improving their quality of life and easing the additional daily pressures.

They also provide a range of programmes and services, as well as information and advice to families that apply to them, in order to help them access more of the support that may be of help to them in raising their child or young person.

Watch their animated videos on how to apply and should I apply? for a snapshot of what is needed for the application.

To find out more or apply visit www.familyfund.org.uk

Disabled Children’s Service

The Disabled Children’s Service team undertakes a Child and Family Needs Assessment to see what additional support families who have disabled children need.

Assessments can lead to a support package in the form of Direct Payments, or through an approved care agency and in some cases interim support can be provided during the assessment.

After the assessment families can receive:

Help with personal care and social activities
Help from the Short Breaks Service

Hackney's Disabled Children's Service does not accept new referrals themselves.

All referrals come through Hackney Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

Phone: 0208 356 5500

e-mail: MASH@hackney.gov.uk

Referral form and more information are available from the Disabled Children’s Service entry.

To find out more visit Disabled Children’s Service

Disabled Persons Freedom Pass

The travel pass for disabled people that allows free travel across London and free bus journeys nationally.

Statutory disabilities which make someone eligible for a disabled persons Freedom Pass are:

People who are blind or partially sighted
People who are profoundly or severely deaf
People without speech
People who have a disability, or have suffered an injury, which has left them with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to walk
People who do not have arms or have a long-term loss of the use of both arms
People who have a learning disability that is defined as 'a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning'
People who, if they applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, would have their application refused pursuant to section 92 of the Act (physical fitness) otherwise than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol.

To apply for a Freedom Pass visit www.hackney-framework.egovhub.net

Discretionary Freedom Passes

A number of boroughs issue discretionary Freedom Passes to disabled people who do not meet the statutory eligibility criteria. The number of boroughs offering these may be subject to change and because these passes are discretionary, they could be withdrawn at a future date.

For more information about the discretionary Freedom Pass contact the council by:

Phone: 0300 330 1433

e-mail: info@freedompass.org

Find out more: https://hackney.gov.uk/freedom-pass

Find out more: https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedom-pass/disabled-persons-freedom-pass

Blue Badge

If you're disabled or have a health condition that affects your mobility, you can apply for a Blue Badge which allows to to park a car in places nearer to where you are going.

Parents and carers can apply for a badge if they care for a child with a health condition.

If you get certain benefits you may automatically be able to get a Blue Badge. These applications are straightforward.

It's may still be worth applying if you're not automatically eligible. Applications may be more complicated, because you will have to describe the problems you have with mobility in a lot more detail.

To find out more visit https://hackney.gov.uk/blue-badge

Disabled Persons Railcard

The Disabled Persons Railcard is for people with a disability that makes travelling by train difficult. You will qualify for the Disabled Persons Railcard if you receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at either:

the higher or lower rate for the mobility component, or
the higher or middle rate for the care component
have a visual impairment
have a hearing impairment
have epilepsy

To find out more vist http://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/

Carers Card

Carers, aged 18 or over, who provide care for a Hackney resident, of any age, can apply for a Hackney carer's card and sign up for the carers' register.

Find out more: https://www.hackney.gov.uk/carers-card-register

Emergency Carers Card

Carers often worry about who will tend to the people they care for if they are involved in an unplanned emergency.

The emergency card is a plastic card, the size of a credit card, which will identify you as a carer if you have an accident or are unable to identify yourself. The emergency card scheme ensures that your emergency plan will be accessible to all should any unplanned emergency occur to you.

To find out more visit https://www.hackney.gov.uk/carers-emergency-card

Cinema Exhibitors Association Card

The CEA Card is a national card scheme developed for UK cinemas by the UK Cinema Association (UKCA), formerly the Cinema Exhibitors' Association (CEA). The scheme is one of the ways for participating cinemas to make reasonable adjustments for disabled guests when they go to the cinema and helps by providing a complimentary ticket for someone to go with them.

Find out more: https://www.ceacard.co.uk/