Free printable PDF · 11 A4 pages
Day and night care diary for a child's DLA claim
The DLA claim form asks how often your child needs help, how long it takes and what happens at night. That is hard to answer from memory weeks later. This free diary helps you write it down for a week, on the day it happens, so the numbers you put on the form come from real days.
The diary follows the DLA form for a child under 16 used in England and Wales. In Scotland, new claims for children are Child Disability Payment, not DLA. In Northern Ireland, DLA for children is run by the Department for Communities (nidirect), with its own version of the form.
What is inside
How to use it
Seven short steps, the form's own definitions of day and night, and a filled-in example that shows the kind of detail that helps.
Seven daily pages
A daytime table (what help was needed, the time, how long and what would happen without it), a night table, a bad day check and space for notes.
A weekly summary
One row for each care question on the form, 54 to 70, and the seven kinds of help at night that question 70 asks about.
Ready to send, if you choose
Space for your child's full name, date of birth and National Insurance number on every diary page, as the DWP asks for evidence.
Get the diary free
Enter your email address and the download is ready straight away. We also email you the link, so you can find it later.
Occasional DLA guidance by email. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy
Your diary is ready
Print it on A4 and start with today, whether it is a good day or a hard one.
We also email you the link, so you can find it again.
Why a diary helps
DLA for a child under 16 is not paid for a diagnosis. The claim form says it is paid for the impact a condition has on the child. The question is whether your child needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability.
The care questions ask for numbers: how often each day your child needs help, how many minutes it takes each time and, at night, how many nights a week and how many times a night. Small things are easy to forget when you fill in a form weeks later: a reminder, waiting while your child finishes, calming them down afterwards. A diary written on the day keeps them.
The booklet that comes with the form suggests keeping a diary or daily record to help you fill it in. You do not have to send it. If you want to, the booklet lists diaries from carers or family members among the evidence you can send. Send a copy and keep the original.
Day and night, the form's way
Daytime is any time before you, the parents or carer, go to bed. Night is when everyone in the house is in bed. In the form's example the child goes to bed at 8pm and the parents at 11pm, so daytime runs until 11pm. Help at 10pm counts as daytime help, and help at 2am counts as night.
Write down need, not only the help given
DWP guidance for decision makers says they should look at the help a child needs, not only the help they actually get. If your child needed help that no one was free to give, write that down too.
From diary to form
When your week is done, see how one area of your child's DLA form reads when it is written question by question, the way the form asks for it. Free, no card.
Frequently asked questions
Is the care diary really free?
Yes. Enter your email address and the PDF is ready to download straight away. There is no payment and no card. We may send you occasional DLA guidance by email, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Do I have to send the diary to the DWP?
No. The booklet that comes with the claim form says a diary is there to help you fill in the form and you do not have to send it. If you want to send it as evidence, send a copy, keep the original and write your child's full name, date of birth and National Insurance number (if they have one) on each page.
How long should I keep the diary for?
We suggest a week, with school or nursery days and a weekend, so it shows the pattern. The booklet says that if your child's needs vary, it may help to keep a record on different days.
What counts as night on the DLA form?
Night is when everyone in the house is in bed. Daytime is any time before the parents or carer go to bed. In the form's example the child goes to bed at 8pm and the parents at 11pm, so daytime runs until 11pm and help after that counts as night.
Is my information safe?
The diary is a PDF that you print and fill in by hand, so what you write about your child stays on paper with you. We only ask for your email address, to send you the link and occasional guidance.