CLAIM YOUR RETURN TO SCHOOL GRANT BEFORE THE END OF THIS MONTH

16th September 2020

At the end of July 2020, Racing Welfare announced that it would be providing Return to School grants to racing industry families with school-age dependent children. The Return to School grants, which are awarded at £100 per child up to a maximum of 4 children per family, aim to ease the financial burden on families during what can be an expensive time of year. Applications will continue to be accepted for the grants up until Wednesday 30th September and can be made to recover the costs of uniform and equipment already purchased.

The grants, which are kindly being funded by the John Pearce Foundation and The Racing Foundation, are intended to help families with purchasing back to school essentials such as uniform, P.E. kit and educational equipment. Families can also use the grants to recover the costs of such equipment if already purchased. They are available to anyone currently working in the thoroughbred racing and breeding industry who has dependent, school-age children (4-18 years) and meets the eligibility criteria. 

To be eligible for support, parents must be working or be self-employed in the industry for a minimum of one year, or have lost their job or work or be on furlough, within the last year.  Furthermore, they must be living on or below the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard and be in receipt of Child Benefit. 

The minimum income standard is higher than many people believe and any family working within the racing or breeding industries is urged to check their income using the simple Minimum Income Calculator UK: https://www.minimumincome.org.uk/ or contact your local Racing Welfare team for assistance. 

Racing Welfare has streamlined its application procedure to allow for grants to be processed as quickly and efficiently as possible, though eligible families are encouraged to apply without delay in order to meet the end of September deadline. The charity’s team can be contacted directly via their regional office numbers.  These lines are manned from 9am – 5pm, Monday-Friday and are as follows: 

Lambourn: 01488 670 034

Website: www.racingwelfare.co.uk

Racing’s Support Line: 0800 6300 443

Online self-help resources: www.support.racingwelfare.co.uk