Claim Your 30 Hours Free
You may already know that the government has rolled out a scheme offering ‘30 hours free childcare’ to some families with children aged 3 to 4-years-old. The ‘30 hours free childcare’ scheme is great news for eligible families, who could claim up to double the amount of free childcare they are currently entitled to.
What is the ‘30 Hours Free Childcare’ scheme?
All 3 and 4-year-olds in England are currently entitled to up to 15 hours a week free childcare for 38 weeks of the year (during school term-times) and an additional 15 hours for some eligible working families. As we operate an all year round provision this equates to 11.5 universal hours and 11.5 extended hours.
This could take your free childcare entitlement from 570 hours a year up to 1,140 hours a year.
How do I know if I am entitled to 30 hours free childcare?
In order to receive 30 hours free childcare, you’ll need to be able to answer ‘Yes’ to the following questions:
- Will your child be aged 3 or 4 when the scheme starts?
- Are both parent/carers working (or are you, as a sole parent/carer, working)?
- Does each parent/carer earn (on average) the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage?
- Does each parent/carer have an annual income of less than £100,000?
- Do you live in England?
- The easiest way to find out whether or not you’re eligible is to use this free online calculator.
How do I apply for 30 hours free childcare?
To apply for 30 hours free childcare you’ll need to make an online application to HRMC.
Once you’ve completed your application, you’ll be told whether or not you’re eligible for 30 hours free childcare.
- If you are eligible you will then receive a code.
- You will need to bring your code into the Nursery and give it to your Nursery Manager, along with your National Insurance number.
- Then all you have to do is wait for your Nursery Manager to check the code is correct, and set up your free childcare hours for you. It’s as simple as that!
