The Government announced plans to increase access to funded childcare hours to include younger children. The phased introduction of this plan begins in April 2024 through to September 2025:

• From April 2024, children aged two to receive 15 hours of funded childcare
• From September 2024, children aged 9 months also to have access to the 15 hours of funded childcare
• By September 2025, all eligible children aged from 9 months to school age to receive 30 hours of funded childcare

The updated eligibility checker on childcarechoices.gov.uk is live and allows parents to access personalised information on the support available to them, including which of the new transformational childcare offers they will be eligible for depending on the age of their child and earnings.  

The website will also give parents the opportunity to sign up for regular updates letting them know when they should take action to make sure they are getting the support they are entitled to – including when the new 15 hours for two-year-olds becomes available for sign-ups, with the offer beginning in April 2024.   

Please take some time to check your eligibility to ensure that you take advantage of any government help that may be available to you in the future. 

Currently, there are some funding options available to parents / carers such as TAX-FREE CHILDCARE, 15 HOURS FUDNING for 2,3 & 4 years olds, and 30 HOUR FUNDING for 3 & 4 years olds for eligible families. 

To find out more about the options available to you, click on the button below. 

Update: 22/05/24

Childcare applications for parents of 9-month-olds now open

Working parents whose children will be aged between 9- and 23-months old on 31 August 2024 can apply for their government-funded childcare code via the childcare service, which they then take to their chosen childcare provider to validate. 

Update: 12/08/2025

Expanding childcare support can help give your child a great start and give you the choices you need to balance work and family life.

From September, eligible working parents of children from 9 months old up to school age can access up to 30 hours of childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year – starting from the term after your child turns 9 months old.

Apply for your code by 31 August to start using your hours from 1 September.

Already using 15 hours childcare for working families?

You don’t need to reapply for a new code. Simply continue to reconfirm your details every 3 months on your GOV.UK account and your existing code will update automatically to enable you to take up 30 hours from September. 

If you're already using your 15 hours childcare and want to increase your hours from September, speak to your provider directly, as places may be limited. If you're struggling to find a place, contact your local authority to find out what support and options are available.

You can now use your Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) account to pay for before and after school activities and holiday clubs through your school’s payment provider.

HMRC has introduced a new system to make this possible, but it depends on your payment provider, school, and childcare provider being signed up to TFC. we are happy to confirm that we are registered with HMRC to receive Tax-Free Childcare payments.