Starting from April 2024, existing childcare support will be expanded in phases. By September 2025, most working families with children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.

The changes are being introduced gradually to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families.

This means that:

• From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours childcare support.
• From September 2024, 15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.
• From September 2025, eligible working parents with a child from 9 months old up to school age will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week. 
• Like the existing offer, depending on your provider, these hours can be used over 38 weeks of the year or up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week.
• You can sign up for more details about the upcoming expansion from April 2024, as well as how and when to register for support with childcare costs.

HOW WE WILL USE THE FUNDING

• We will offer the funding entitlement between the hours of 8.30-11.30 and 12.30-3.30. This will be the same across the whole Nursery, which is what we currently do with the current 30 hour funding. Parents will be able to have 6 hours for a full day and 3 hours for a half day but this will be less if parents stretch their funding to all year round. Breakfast, tea and lunch times will be chargeable but parents will still be able to use tax free childcare to reduce this cost further.
• All year round  spaces will continue to be 8am-5pm, 8am-12.30pm or 12.30pm-5pm. We will continue to be flexible regarding the sessions you require but will expect each child to do a minimum of 3 sessions if they are available.
• Term time only spaces will continue to be 8.30am-3.30pm, 8.30am-11.30am or 12.30pm-3.30pm. If breakfast and tea numbers are low then there may be a possibility of picking these up. From September families that are not eligible for the new funding but are using the universal 3 year old funding or are contacted with a 2 year funding code will be offered either 5 morning or 5 afternoons. Those that have the new eligibility code will be able to have a combination of full days and half days.
• We strongly advise that parents take their full entitlement from the start as there will be little chance of increasing later. 
• There will be no changes to the hours/sessions that children currently do with us.