Free childcare in the UK - are you eligible to receive it?
Yesterday the government launched their updated free childcare scheme. Find out more on whether you are eligible to receive it and how to go about accessing it for your child.
Yesterday was an important day for childcare in the UK - as part of the government’s additional support for working parents, eligible families can now apply for 15 hours of ‘free’ childcare for 2 year olds. As a parent of a 2 year old I’ve been looking into the offering and how to access it - the details are out there but I must admit I didn’t find it straightforward so I’ve tried to distill what I’ve learned below.
The free hours are being rolled out in stages, starting with 15 hours for 2 year olds from April 2024. In September 2024 this will extend to cover children from 9 months old.
The free hours can only be used during term time and can’t be used to cover any extra costs like meals, other consumables, additional hours or activities. You can apply from now until and February.
Do you qualify for free childcare?
Are you eligible? Yes, if the following statements apply:
your child is 2 years old on or before 1 April 2024
you earn between £8,668-£100,000 a year after tax and any deductions - if you’re a couple, this applies to each of you.
It’s worth checking with your childcare provider whether they plan to offer the free hours, some providers have yet to confirm (mine included!).
If your nursery plans to offer the free hours, it’s worth asking for more detail on how you can access them. As an example, the nursery we use stipulate that the ‘free’ hours apply between certain times of the day.
How much is it worth?
Based on an average cost of £6-7 per hour, if you’re able to access the full 15 hours, then you could be around £100 better off each week. Not to be sniffed at.
Even better is that you can get the 15 hours of funded childcare at the same time as using Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit for childcare. As with tax free childcare, you’ll need to reconfirm eligibility every 3 months.
How to apply
Login to your gov.uk childcare service account here: https://childcare.tax.service.gov.uk
Once you have registered when the offer becomes available to you, you’ll be sent a code to share with your provider - depending on how they intend to allocate the hours you will then receive this saving off your bill.
Find out more
You can find out more about the support available to you on the childcare choices website: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Thanks for reading and if you found this post useful please consider subscribing (it’s free!) and you’ll get updates on my future posts straight to your inbox.
