Funding
All children are eligible for 15 hours of funding from the term after they turn 3. See below additional funding available from 2 years old. Please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk for more information.
Government Support Funding:
Children aged 2 will receive 15 hours of funding from the term after they turn 2 if you live in England and receive any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (or both), and your household income if £16,190 a year or less before tax
- The Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
Children can also receive this funding if they;
- are looked after by the local authority
- have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
- get Disability Living Allowance
- have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangement order.
Working Families Funding:
Children aged 2 may receive 30 hours of funding from the term after they turn 2. Children aged 3 and 4 may receive an additional 15 hours of funding.
Eligibility Criteria:
- You live in England
- Both parents must be working, or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family
- Each parent (or lone parent) earns on average £167 per week, this is equal to 16 hours at National Minimum or Living Wage).
- Each parent (or lone parent) must have an annual income of less than £100,000
To check eligibility, you need to register at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to obtain an 11-digit code. This eligibility MUST be renewed every 3 months to ensure the funding continues.