CCM6280 - Particular Aspects: Child Care – Definition of a Child

A person is defined as a child until the last day of the week (i.e. the Saturday) in which falls the 1st September following that child’s fifteenth birthday (or sixteenth birthday if the child is disabled). So, for example, a child born on 8 June 1988 will be a child for the purposes of the child care element until 6 September 2003, or until 4 September 2004 if s/he is disabled.

A child is disabled if:

• a disability living allowance (DLA) is payable in respect of him / her, or has ceased to be payable solely because s/he is a patient (a child is a patient if s/he is receiving free in - patient treatment in a hospital
• s/he is registered as blind, or only ceased to be registered blind within the 28 weeks immediately preceding the date of claim.

It will be rare for you to have doubts about whether a child is a qualifying child, but if you do, you can ask for evidence such as:

• birth certificates
• certificate of registration of blindness
• payments of disability living allowance.