Help with childcare costs:.

Please check what support for childcare costs you are entitled to:

Working parents may be entitled to funded childcare, starting the term after your child is nine months old. Eligibility can be checked. To understand what help you may be entitled to please visit the governments Childcare Choices website. The website is designed to provide an overview of all the different types of funding and support that is available. Me2 funding is offered for 2 years old children based on earning thresholds and income support criteria.

Parents and carers have the choice of stretched or standard funding options. Standard funding offers 15 or 30 hours to be taken across 38 weeks of the year, this is similar to school terms. Stretched funding offers 12 or 24 hours taken over 48 weeks of the year. Parents and carers can choose the funding option that best suits.

Charges

A higher rate is charged for peak hours of the day. These charges vary across age groups and are reviewed annually.
To avoid session charges, funded hours should be used across a set number of morning and afternoon sessions each week. If funded hours are stretched across a higher number of sessions, then ‘session charges’ will apply.

Childcare vouchers

The government childcare voucher scheme is being phased out and has been replaced with the new tax-free childcare scheme, however, we do still accept childcare vouchers from all of the major providers.

Tax-Free childcare

Tax-free childcare is the current government scheme which offers working families up to 20% saving on childcare costs. For every £8 you pay in, the Government will add £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child, per year.

Universal credits

Parents and carers who are in receipt of universal credit will be able to claim back up to 85% of childcare costs. In this case, parents and carers will need to book and pay for nursery bookings in the normal way and will thereafter be reimbursed by the government.