30 Hours Funded Childcare

You will no doubt have heard that the Government will soon be offering 30 hours funded childcare. We are pleased to support the scheme and are here to answer any questions you may have about the best way to fund childcare for your little one.

Currently all 3 and 4 year olds can access 15 hours of government funded childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year. From September 2017, the government is doubling this offer for working parents to 30 hours a week, for 38 weeks, a total of 1140 hours a year, subject to eligibility and availability.

Children 1st will offer funded 30 hour places from September for families who meet the eligibility criteria.

Is this for you?
Briefly, to be eligible, you, and any partner, must each expect to earn (on average) at least £120 a week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage). If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or you’re unable to work because you are disabled or have caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible.

You can’t receive 30 hours childcare if you, or your partner, expect to earn £100,000 or more.

How do I apply?
To access the funding you must check your eligibility on the government website GOV.UK and apply online.

Parents of children who will be 3 on 31 August 2017 can apply now on the GOV.UK website where further information is available by following this link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility

If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a code – this will allow you to arrange your childcare place for September 2017. Take your code to your Children 1st nursery, along with your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth. Children 1st will check the code is authentic and allocate your child a funded childcare place, subject to availability.

If you have any further questions, please contact us on 0800 652 1052.