As you may be aware the government brought in new funding in 2024 to help and support working families with the cost of childcare. We fully support the new funding (based on the fact that it is correctly funded in money terms to us the providers) and are excited that it will enable more families to return to work and for our existing families to be saving money on their childcare each month.
What are the different types of funding?
Funding for babies aged 9 months +
From September 2024 babies will be entitled to claim funding. The funding is only available the term AFTER a baby turns 9 months- this is absolutely set in stone with no exceptions even if your child misses out by a day or 2.
- If your baby is 9 months old before 31st August the funding starts in September
- If they are 9 months old before 31st Dec, the funding starts in January.
- And if your baby is 9 months old by 31st March, it starts in April.
The criteria to be eligible is as follows….
- Both parents need to be working (if in a 2 parent household) more than 16 hrs a week
- Each parent needs to be earning less than £100k a year
To claim you will need to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and apply. You will be given a code which will need to be entered onto our funding terms and conditions form. This code, along with your National insurance numbers will allow us to validate your claim with Devon. Codes need to be applied for by the end of the term before you wish to claim. Codes MUST be reconfirmed every 3 months to ensure the code is still valid. The funding will be applied to your account with the funding taken off your normal month invoice. Invoices will be sent out as normal with any remaining fees being due by 7th of each month.
At Little Ones Childcare we offer the funding in a variety of ways.
- Term time only- 38 weeks of the year funded with either no attendance during the school holidays or normal fees charged.
- Stretched all year so every week we are open is a funded week.
All funding can be shared between another setting for example a childminder or other setting.
Term time only funding gives you 15 hrs a week for 38 weeks a year. All year funding gives you 11 hrs a week for every week we are open.
Funding for 2 year olds
There are 2 types of 2 year old funding available.
Targeted 2 year old funding
This funding is for families claiming certain benefits.
Your two-year-old is eligible for funded childcare if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
- Child Tax Credits and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
- the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
Two-year-olds can also get funded childcare if they:
- are looked after by the Local Authority
- have an Education, Health and Care Plan
- get Disability Living Allowance
- have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order
Parents or carers of foster children, children who are in the care of another local authority, children with additional needs or adopted children should apply online and attach supporting evidence to their application.
Some parents are sent a text, email or invitation through the post telling them that they might be eligible for 2 year old funding. These are sent from Devon County Council’s Early Years and Childcare team and will include a link to the Citizen’s Portal where you can apply to see if you can be funded. Most texts will show up on your phone as a Private Number. Emails can sometimes go into junk or spam folders, so we ask that parents and carers regularly check.
If you have not received an invitation but think you may be eligible, you can still check your eligibility or call Devon on 0345 155 1013 so that they can check for you.
If you are eligible you will be sent either an email or a message (you can choose which). If someone checked your eligibility for you then you will receive a letter in the post. Please show this to your nursery manager as proof of your eligibility.
At Little Ones Childcare we offer the funding in a variety of ways.
- Term time only- 38 weeks of the year funded with either no attendance during the school holidays or normal fees charged.
- Stretched all year so every week we are open is a funded week.
All funding can be shared between another setting for example a childminder or other setting.
Term time only funding gives you 15 hrs a week for 38 weeks a year. All year funding gives you 11 hrs a week for every week we are open.
The funding is only available the term AFTER a child turns 2- this is absolutely set in stone with no exceptions even if your child misses out by a day or 2.
- If your child is 2 before 31st March then you can claim from April.
- If your child is 2 before 31st Aug it will start from Sept
- If your child turns 2 before 31st Dec, the funding will start from Jan.
Working families 2 year old funding
The criteria to be eligible is as follows….
- Both parents need to be working (if in a 2 parent household) more than 16 hrs a week
- Each parent needs to be earning less than £100k a year
To claim you will need to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and apply. You will be given a code which will need to be entered onto our funding terms and conditions form. This code, along with your National insurance numbers will allow us to validate your claim with Devon. Codes need to be applied for by the end of the term before you wish to claim. Codes MUST be reconfirmed every 3 months to ensure the code is still valid. The funding will be applied to your account with the funding taken off your normal month invoice. Invoices will be sent out as normal with any remaining fees being due by 7th of each month.
At Little Ones Childcare we offer the funding in a variety of ways.
- Term time only- 38 weeks of the year funded with either no attendance during the school holidays or normal fees charged.
- Stretched all year so every week we are open is a funded week.
All funding can be shared between another setting for example a childminder or other setting.
Term time only funding gives you 15 hrs a week for 38 weeks a year. All year funding gives you 11 hrs a week for every week we are open.
The funding is only available the term AFTER a child turns 2- this is absolutely set in stone with no exceptions even if your child misses out by a day or 2.
- If your child is 2 before 31st March then you can claim from April.
- If your child is 2 before 31st Aug it will start from Sept
- If your child turns 2 before 31st Dec, the funding will start from Jan.
Funding for 3 and 4 year olds
There are 2 types of funding for children aged 3 and 4
Universal- available to ALL families
Every child can claim this funding. You don’t need a code for this funding.
Term time only funding gives you 15 hrs a week for 38 weeks a year. All year funding gives you 11 hrs a week for every week we are open.
At Little Ones Childcare we offer the funding in a variety of ways.
- Term time only- 38 weeks of the year funded with either no attendance during the school holidays or normal fees charged.
- Stretched all year so every week we are open is a funded week.
All funding can be shared between another setting for example a childminder or other setting.
The funding is only available the term AFTER a child turns 3- this is absolutely set in stone with no exceptions even if your child misses out by a day or 2.
- If your child is 3 before 31st March then you can claim from April.
- If your child is 3 before 31st Aug it will start from Sept
- If your child turns 3 before 31st Dec, the funding will start from Jan.
Extended/ working funding- this is for families with both parents in work.
The criteria to be eligible is as follows….
- Both parents need to be working (if in a 2 parent household) more than 16 hrs a week
- Each parent needs to be earning less than £100k a year
To claim you will need to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and apply. You will be given a code which will need to be entered onto our funding terms and conditions form. This code, along with your National insurance numbers will allow us to validate your claim with Devon. Codes need to be applied for by the end of the term before you wish to claim. Codes MUST be reconfirmed every 3 months to ensure the code is still valid. The funding will be applied to your account with the funding taken off your normal month invoice. Invoices will be sent out as normal with any remaining fees being due by 7th of each month.
At Little Ones Childcare we offer the funding in a variety of ways.
- Term time only- 38 weeks of the year funded with either no attendance during the school holidays or normal fees charged.
- Stretched all year so every week we are open is a funded week.
All funding can be shared between another setting for example a childminder or other setting.
Term time only funding gives you 15 hrs a week for 38 weeks a year. All year funding gives you 11 hrs a week for every week we are open.
The funding is only available the term AFTER a child turns 3- this is absolutely set in stone with no exceptions even if your child misses out by a day or 2.
- If your child is 3 before 31st March then you can claim from April.
- If your child is 3 before 31st Aug it will start from Sept
- If your child turns 3 before 31st Dec, the funding will start from Jan.
Consumable charges
As you may be aware, historically the rate of funding we are given has been very low- much lower than our fees. When the extended funding doubled the amount of funding given to parents we, along with most other providers, found ourselves in a position where we had to make some additional charges in order to remain viable. We brought in a small consumables charge for any fully funded days which allows us to offer the funding, confident that our business could support it.
With the new funding, we find ourselves in a bit of a strange situation where the funding rate for babies and toddlers is considerably higher than the rate we get for 3 and 4 year olds. This has resulted in us only needing to charge a consumable fee for children when they are 3+ but I am hoping that by explaining our reasoning behind this, you will support us with this charge. Some nurseries are deciding to charge a consumable fee for all ages regardless of the rate we are given but this feels unfair (and some may say- immoral?) and so we will be trying our very best to not make any additional charges unless we really have too.
We are all too aware that the funding rates are unlikely to increase in line with min wage/ other increases so this is a decision under review. We will of course, give plenty of notice should things change. For now, our funding for babies and 2 year olds really is ‘free’ to our families- allowing ALL families to access high quality childcare without unreasonable extra charges is something we are really proud to be able to offer!
I know how confusing funding is so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions- always happy to help if I can! katie@littleoneschildcare.co.uk
More information can be found here http://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
