At present, all three and four year olds are entitled to up to 15 hours of free childcare a week, from the term after their 3rd birthday. 

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The extended childcare entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds will provide eligible parents with a total of 30 hours of funded childcare per week, over 38 weeks or the equivalent number of hours across more weeks per year. 

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Eligibility for the extended childcare entitlement

 

The 30 hours entitlement childcare is intended to support working parents with the cost of childcare and enable them, where they wish, to return to work or to work additional hours. The additional 15 hours will be available to families where both parents are working (or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family), and each parent earns, on average, a weekly minimum equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum wage (NMW) or national living wage (NLW), and less than £100,000 per year. Working will include employed and self-employed persons. Parents do not necessarily need to actually work 16 hours a week, but rather their earnings must reflect at least 16 hours of work at NMW or NLW, which is £107 a week at the current NMW rate. This includes those parents on zero contract hours who meet the criteria. To make this affordable we have introduced an income cap so that, when at least one parent in a household has income of £100,000 or more, that family will not be eligible to take up the extra free hours. Families where one parent does not work (or neither parent works) will usually not be eligible for these additional hours. However, the government intends to make provision to support families where one parent is in receipt of benefits relating to caring responsibilities or a disability and the other parent is working. Full details will be set out in regulations, but the government intends that the additional entitlement should be available in the following circumstances:

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 • both parents are employed but one or both parents is temporarily away from the workplace on parental, maternity or paternity leave;  The minimum amount will always be judged against the lowest hourly rate that a person of the parent’s age could legally be paid.  

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• both parents are employed but one or both parents is temporarily away from the workplace on adoption leave;

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• both parents are employed but one or both parents is temporarily away from the workplace on statutory sick pay

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 • one parent is employed and one parent has substantial caring responsibilities based on specific benefits received for caring; or

 

• one parent is employed and one parent is disabled or incapacitated based on receipt of specific benefits.

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Parents and carers are able to apply for the additional 15 hours of free childcare. In order to apply you will need to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and click 'apply now' under the 30 hours section.

Or google '30 hours funding' and it will take you to the Gov website.

Your application will then be reviewed and if approved, you will receive a voucher code for each of your children. Parents will then be advised to take their code to their childcare provider.

More information can be found on the new '30 hours free childcare' page on the FISH website. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact FISH on 01482 396469.

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