Extra Childcare Deadline Looms

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Don’t miss out on extra free childcare for working families

There’s just three weeks left to apply for an extra 15 hours’ of free childcare from September. To be sure of receiving their full entitlement, parents and carers must apply for a place by August 31.

All three and four year olds are already eligible for 15 hours’ childcare funded by the council in borough nurseries, childminders and other Ofsted-registered settings. Now some parents will be able to get a total of 30 hours of funded term-time childcare a week.

To be eligible you must be a two-parent working family or a lone working parent earning more than the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the national living wage.

Parents on zero-hours contracts will be eligible, as are those who are registered as self-employed. See a full list of eligibility criteria.

The council’s spokesman for education and children’s service, Cllr Sarah McDermott, said: “We know that free childcare is a real help for families struggling to make ends meet. We already offer it to all three and four year olds, and some two-year-olds in a wide range of high-quality childcare settings, and I would urge parents to see if they are eligible for these extra hours.”
Parents can apply for the extended funding now at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. Apply by the end of August to be sure of receiving a full academic year’s allocation of 30 hours’ free childcare.

August 11, 2017