The current funded childcare entitlement for three and four year olds is being increased from 15 to 30 hours per week for working parents, from September 2017. This change is to support working parents with the affordability of childcare and enable parents who want to work, or to work more hours, to do so.
Eligibility criteria
The national eligibility criteria which families need to meet are:
Both parents must be working (or the sole parent if in a lone parent family);
Each parent must have a weekly minimum income equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum wage or national living wage; and
Each parent must have an income less than £100,000 per year.
You would also fit the criteria if:
Both parents are employed but one (or both) is temporarily away from the workplace on maternity, paternity, parental or adoption leave, or on statutory sick pay;
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.
Further information on eligibility
A 'parent' is defined as a person who has parental responsibility or care for the child. In cases where a parent has remarried or is living with a partner, the step-parent or partner must also meet the earnings threshold.
The definition of 'working' includes employed persons, self-employed persons and parents on zero hours contracts who meet the above criteria.
All three and four year old children are entitled to the universal 15 hours funding per week, regardless of a parent's income.
Children in a maintained reception class are not eligible for the 30 hour extended childcare entitlement.
Foster carers are eligible for the extended entitlement if they meet the criteria set out above for their own children. Foster carers are not eligible for the extended entitlement for the children that they foster.
Two parent families where one parent does not work (or neither parent works), or lone parents who do not work will not be eligible for the extended entitlement.
Where one parent is working (and meets the income requirements) and the other is not working because they are disabled or are in receipt of benefits relating to caring responsibilities or a disability (e.g. in receipt of carer's allowance), we will treat these households as eligible.
- HMRC will be responsible for providing the online eligibility checking system for parents and they are aiming for this to be available at some point in the summer term.
- As Parents you can sign up for updates on the DfE’s new website for families – www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
