From the beginning of January, parents are able to apply for a code to access funding for 15 hours of childcare for two-year-olds from 1 April.
As announced by the government last year, starting from April 2024, existing childcare support will be expanded in phases. 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 of children under the age of 5 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.
However, according to recent research by Pregnant Then Screwed, just 11% of the parents surveyed have been able to access the government’s service to obtain a code, while only 55% have been able to find a childcare provider that will accept the extended funded hours provision.
You can read the summary and results of the survey here.
