CCM18030 - Child Benefit and Tax Credits: Definition of Full Time Education

For both Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit full-time education means a course where the average time spent during term time receiving tuition, engaging in practical work or supervised study or taking examinations is more than 12 hours a week and is not:

• advanced , or
• linked to employment or any office held.

It includes normal gaps between courses.

Before April 2006 training under a relevant training programme where a training allowance was paid, for example an apprentice electrician was not included in the definition of full time education and ChB and CTC could not be claimed for that child or young person.

From April 2006 ChB and CTC can be claimed where the child or qualifying young person is undertaking approved training (see CCM18035) that is not under their contract of employment.

There is a list of advanced and non-advanced courses in the CBO Knowledge Base.

Differences

For Child Benefit reasonable interruptions in full-time education of less than 6 months can be ignored.

Before 6 April 2006 the rules were more complicated for Child Tax Credit (CTC).

From 6 April 2006 reasonable interruptions in full-time, non-advanced education or approved training of less than 6 months can be ignored for CTC along with longer spells of interruption that are reasonable and attributable to illness or disability of the mind or body.