Two-year-olds for working families
Currently eligible working parents of three and four-year-olds can access up to 30 hours a week of funded childcare. From April 2024, the early education entitlement will be expanded for working families of younger children so they can access up to 15 hours per week.
Your child will be entitled to funded hours from the funding term after both of the following conditions are satisfied:
- Your child has reached the age of two
- You have a current confirmation of eligibility from HMRC
The eligibility criteria can be viewed on the government’s childcare service website.
If the application is approved, parents will be given an 11 digit code by HMRC via the Childcare Service.You must reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months even if you haven’t started claiming.
Foster carers may be eligible for the Expanded Entitlements for children who they foster, where the foster parent(s) are engaged in paid work outside of their fostering responsibilities. Foster parents should contact their social worker to enquire about this.