31st July 2026
Family Benefits Advice Service at Clogher Valley Show
On 29th 2026 July the Family Benefits Advice Service was at the Clogher Valley Agricultural Show.
The Clogher Valley Agricultural Show, held in Augher, County Tyrone is one of the largest rural and agricultural shows in Northern Ireland attracting around 20,000 visitors.
Our Family Benefits Advisor was there providing valuable advice and information to parents on the support available towards the cost of registered childcare and other benefit entitlements, including many queries from parents with children with disabilities or special educational needs.
The Family Benefits Advisor spoke to many parents regarding the challenge of juggling work and family life and the need to be able to access registered childcare to allow parents to return to work after maternity leave, or trying to remain in work while trying to balance childcare alongside other work and family commitments.
Many families highlighted not only the cost of childcare, but the lack of availability of registered childcare providers in many rural areas. While many families living in more rural areas often have one parent working on a farm or in the local area, many others have longer commuting times and so require childcare providers to be open longer hours to allow them the additional travel time to and from work.
The Family Benefits Advice Service’s attendance at the show was supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, Awards for All. This allows us to extend the already effective work of our charity’s Family Benefits Advice Service into more rural communities across Northern Ireland where access to registered childcare can be more challenging than in urban areas.
If you are a parent or carer, or are involved in a group supporting parents or carers please get in touch. Our advisors carry out one to one benefit checks to provide parents and carers with the best information relevant to their particular circumstances. For groups we can provide leaflets to be distributed and deliver information sessions to groups of parents.
The Family Benefits Advice Service can be contacted on fbas@employersforchildcare.org.