15 / 30 Hour Free Childcare Information
There are several different childcare entitlements available, which have different eligibility criteria.
– 15 hour working parent entitlement (9 months old until the child starts school)
Some working parents will be entitled to 15 hours free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year from the term after their child is nine months old until they start school. Your childcare provider can ‘stretch’ your entitlement by using fewer then 38 hours over more weeks.
The criteria to qualify for this entitlement are:
- A child must be under compulsory school age and living in England.
- Both parents must be working (or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family) and each parent must earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week and less than £100,000 per year.
Families where one parent does not work (or neither parent works) will not usually be eligible for the extended free entitlement.
– 15 hours entitlement for some two year olds
A two year old may be entitled to 15 hours free childcare a week for 38 weeks if they live in a household in receipt of certain benefits. This childcare can also be ‘stretched’ taking fewer hours over more weeks of the year. Eligibility begins at the start of the term following the child’s second birthday.
– Universal 15 hour entitlement
All three and four year olds are entitled to a universal 15 hour entitlement from the term after their third birthday. This can be combined with the working parent entitlement to make up 30 hours of free childcare.
To be eligible for the working parent entitlement, you must have had your eligibility checked by HMRC. Visit: https://gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working
If you are eligible, HMRC will issue a code which must be presented to nursery. This will then be validated via nursery through the local authority before your 15 hour working parent entitlement can be allocated.
Parents will be notified to reconfirm their eligibility approximately every 3 months.