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By Rachel Lawler

Parents whose children are asked to self-isolate after contact with a positive case of Covid-19 will now be included in the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme if they are unable to work as a result.

The , which provides a £500 payment to those on certain benefits or low incomes who are required to self-isolate, has been extended to the parents and carers of children who cannot work because their child or children are required to self-isolate.

This is limited to one parent or guardian per household for the child's self-isolation period, and parents must meet all the relevant means-tested eligibility criteria. The payment ensures that parents receive the financial support they need if they are unable to attend work due to childcare responsibilities.

Parents and carers will need to apply via the local authority in which they live to receive a payment and will need to either provide their child’s NHS Test and Trace Account ID, or a communication from their early years provider/school informing them that their child needs to self-isolate.

To be eligible applicants must meet all of the criteria that:

• they are the parent or guardian of a child or young person in the same household and need to take time off work to care for them while they self-isolate. This is limited to one parent or guardian per household for the child or young person’s self-isolation period

• they are employed or self-employed
• they cannot work from home while undertaking caring responsibilities and will lose income as a result
• they meet all the other means-tested eligibility criteria for a Test and Trace Support Payment or locally determined criteria for a discretionary payment.

That their child or young person:

• is aged 15 or under (or 25 or under with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC)) and normally attends an education or childcare setting
• has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or by their education or childcare setting because they have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

Further information on the eligibility criteria for the scheme is available .

The Department for Education has confirmed to the ÎÞÂëÌìÌà that the extension of the scheme applies as of 8 March 2021, and parents have 42 days from their child's first day of isolation to make a claim.

Self isolation letter

If your setting needs to advise parents/careers that their child needs to self-isolate, then you may need to provide them with a letter to support their application to the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme.

Once an application for a payment has been received, the local authority will be in touch with you to verify the details of the child provided on the application.

This will include a check of the child’s name, age, address and days of self-isolation, and is to minimise the event of fraudulent claims.

This check may be conducted before or after a payment is made, depending on the arrangements the individual local authority has chosen to put in place.

Further information:

Read the government guidance in full: