Cost of living
Find a range of support including housing and homelessness, money, bills and energy, food support and debt advice and support and benefits calculator on our Cost of Living webpages.
Help with food
Discover!
A holiday programme for low-income families that provides meals and activities for primary school-aged children and their families. Please ask your school for more information and to make a recommendation.
Breakfast clubs
Free places are available in all Council run and some private provider breakfast clubs. These can be allocated at the headteacher's discretion.
Help with housing
Temporary accommodation and homelessness
If you are a family that is homeless or living in temporary accommodation in the City of Edinburgh, the Council has some funding to support children and young people to access education and support their wellbeing. Support can include help with digital devices, school meals, bus passes, counselling for parents and carers, and access to sanitary products at home. For support please speak to your child's headteacher for primary-aged children or their guidance teacher for high school-aged children.
Fresh Start
Fresh Start is an Edinburgh-based charity helping people who have been homeless get established in their new homes. Working in partnership with volunteers and organisations from a broad section of the community, they deliver a range of services that provide the practical and social support that helps people resettle successfully. They can help with starter packs of everyday household goods, and larger appliances such as cookers, washing machines or fridge freezers, if you are in the first six months of your tenancy, then their Fresh Rooms service could help to decorate up to two rooms. They also have a shop and pantry to help with the cost of food and household items, cooking classes or gardening spaces.
For more information visit the Fresh Start website, email admin@freshstartweb.org.uk or call 0131 476 7741.
Help with employment, training and childcare
Childcare support if you receive Universal Credit
Supporting childcare costs while you are working if you receive Universal Credit. This includes nursery, holiday clubs, after-school clubs and breakfast clubs. If you live with a partner, you both need to be working, unless your partner cannot look after your children.
The childcare must be registered or approved and you must be in paid work to get help with childcare costs. There is no minimum number of hours you need to work to get help with childcare costs. The maximum award is 85% of what you pay or 85% of the maximum childcare costs, whichever is lower. However, you may get less than this because UC is reduced by your income.
For more information visit the Universal Credit and childcare webpages.
Tax-free childcare
Receive up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each child to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). For every £8 added in to the childcare account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay a childcare provider. Tax-free childcare can be used to approved childcare such as childminders, nurseries, nannies, after school clubs and play schemes. Eligibility criteria apply.
For more information and to apply visit the Tax-Free Childcare Webpage.
One Parent Families Scotland
The leading charity working with single-parent families in Scotland. They provide expert advice, practical support and campaign with parents to make their voices heard to change the systems, policies and attitudes that disadvantage single-parent families. They work with and for single-parent families, providing support services that enable them to achieve their potential and help create lasting solutions to the poverty and barriers facing many single parents and their children.
For support visit the One Parent Families Scotland website or call the Lone Parent helpline on 08088 010 323.
Childcare Connector service
This service is provided by One Parent Family Scotland and can assist parents in identifying childcare options such as nursery, childminder, school clubs and information about financial support. It can be challenging to combine work or education with parenting responsibilities.
This service aims to overcome these barriers by supporting parents navigating different types of childcare, and available financial support. By having the right childcare, parents can reach their goals, achieve financial independence and take an equal part in the community. This service is available to single parents living in Edinburgh.
For more information email referrals.edinburgh@opfs.org.uk
Parental Employability Support (PES)
Parental Employability Support service is free and personalised to your needs. You can meet a member of the team in your local area to talk about your goals, build an action plan, and look at your options. This service is flexible, and your keyworker will work at your pace to understand your needs and help you to progress. This includes understanding the balance of being a parent with having your own goals.
You can get one-to-one support to help you with
- Gaining new skills and confidence
- Maximising your income and benefits
- Job applications, CV’s and interviews
- Access to funding to help you move towards employment
- Access to other services that can help
To be eligible for support you need to be a parent and fit into one of the following groups
- Lone Parent
- Parent or child with a disability
- Parent of three or more children
- Parent from a minority ethnic background
- Parent of a child under one year of age
- Parents under 25 years of age
For more information visit the Edinburgh Guarantee website or email ParentalEmployability@edinburgh.gov.uk or call 0131 529 2482.
Volunteering in sports and activities
Active schools help children access active opportunities that support them to have fun, get active and spend time with other children and young people. Their mission is to get children and secondary pupils more active. Being active improves the health and well-being. There are lots of opportunities to volunteer with active schools, which is a great opportunity to build skills and gain experience working with children and in sports activities and contributes to positive health and well-being of people of all ages.
Watch the YouTube Volunteering with Active Schools video to find out more from volunteers themselves about active schools. For more information email activeschools@ea.edin.sch.uk.
Making Work Work for women returners
A free 5 week online programme, funded by the Scottish Government. The programme supports women over 25 years of age who have had a career break of six months or more to get back into ‘work that works’ around all the commitments and fun of life. The programme is aimed at women with management or leadership experience or aspirations, it offers a refresher on management content as well as practical matters such as preparing a CV. Participants are matched with a mentor, are invited to masterclasses and have access to an ever-growing network of women across Scotland.
For more information visit the Making Work Work website.
Job Start payment
This is a one-off payment of £319.80 available to young people in Scotland who are on certain benefits and need help with the costs of starting a new job. If the person has a child, they could get £5116.65. A person must meet all of the criteria below to be eligible
- Are 16 to 24 years old; or are a care leaver aged 16 to 25 years
- Live in Scotland on the day of the job offer
- Have a job offer for paid employment
- The job must average 12 hours or more per week, over a four-week period.
- It doesn’t need to be a permanent job
- Be out of paid work and in receipt of a qualifying benefit for six months or more, or if a care leaver is out of paid work and in receipt of a qualifying benefit at the time of the job offer (care leavers do not need to receive a qualifying benefit for six months).
To apply online visit the Benefits webpage or to complete the application over the phone or request a paper application form call freephone 08001 822 222.
Parent and carer wellbeing and employability support programme
Designed to support parents and carers to access and engage with financial support, wellbeing and employment activities and opportunities. The programme is tailored to each parent or carer’s needs but can include support for completing forms, benefit entitlement checks, engage in social activities, access job relevant training, and more.
For more information email Shirleyann.gray@barnardos.or.uk or call 07395 355 043.
Provision Period products
Local authorities have a legal duty to make period products freely available for anyone who needs them. Reusable and sustainable products are widely available in all City of Edinburgh schools, libraries, community centres and Edinburgh Leisure centres. Find out about the PickupMyPeriod app, all local pick-up points, and more on our web pages.
For enquiries email cec-periodpoverty@ea.edin.sch.uk