Free/funded childcare for your 2 year old

If you are a family getting certain forms of government support, you could get 15 hours of free/funded childcare per week. Children are eligible from the term after turning 2 years old and a parent has successfully applied and received a code

This is for 38 weeks of the year (during school term time). You may be able to get free/funded childcare for more weeks if you use fewer than 15 hours per week. Check with your childcare provider to find out if this is something they offer.

Working families who do not fit the criteria below may be able to access 15 hours of funded childcare support. Find out more at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

• Income Support
  
• Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  
• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
  
• support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act
  
• Universal Credit and not working
  
• Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
  
• Your incomes is £16,190 a year or less, and you
  
  • are in receipt of child tax credit, working tax credit (or both)
    
  • are in receipt of the working tax credit 4 week run on
    

You will need to:

• create an account
• have your national insurance number or National Asylum Seeker Service NASS number

A step by step guide is available to assist you 

Your child has a special educational need or a disability and has:

• an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP)
• or receives Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

• is looked after by the local authority
• has left care under a special guardianship order
• has a child arrangement order
• has an adoption order

• £34,500 for families with one child
• £38,600 for families with two or more children

You can also get free/funded childcare if you have claimed asylum and you receive asylum support. This means:

• you are waiting for a decision for your asylum claim
• you have ‘leave to remain’ (temporary immigration status) with the NRPF condition on grounds of family or private life
• you have the right to live in the UK because you are the main carer of a British citizen known as a “Zambrano carer”

The free/funded childcare entitlements are not intended to cover the costs of

• meals or snacks
  
• other consumables (such as nappies or sun cream),
  
• extra hours or activities (such as trips).
  

Providers may charge a fee for these additions. Discuss with your childcare provider if you unable to pay these costs. Charges should not be a condition of accessing a free place.

Please note, the entitlement to a free/funded place does not offer a guarantee of a place at your preferred provider.

By September 2025, most working families with children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.

The changes are being introduced gradually to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families. This means that:

• From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours childcare support.
  
• From September 2024, 15 hours childcare support will be extended to working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.
  
• From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week.
  

For more information and other childcare support offers, visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk