If you are the parent or carer of a child aged nine months to four years old, find out how much childcare support you could get.
Working Families
To find out if you are eligible for this funding, and to apply, visit the Government's Best Start in Life Parent Hub.
There are two ways that two-year-old children can receive childcare funding. These funding routes are:
- The Working Family Eligibility
- Early Learning for 2 year olds
Working Families
From 1 September 2025, two-year-old children within working families may be eligible to receive up to 30 hours of funded childcare (term-time only). This funding starts the term after the child turns two years old.
To find out if you are eligible for this funding, and to apply, https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Early Learning for 2 year olds
Your 2-year-old can get 15 hours of free childcare a week if you live in England and you or your child get some extra support.
You’ll get these 15 hours for 38 weeks of the year. You may be able to get free childcare for more than 38 weeks a year if you take fewer hours over more weeks.
The childcare must be provided by a registered provider, such as a registered nursery, playscheme or school. This is known as ‘approved childcare’.
Who is eligible
You’ll be eligible if you get any of the following extra support:
- You get Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax (not including benefit payments)
- You get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- You get the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan (EHCP)
- Your child gets Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Your child has left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order
- A child is also eligible if they are in care
If you’re working
If you get extra support and you work, you may qualify for an extra 15 hours of free childcare. Find out more about Free Childcare for Working Parents.
If you qualify for both schemes, you should apply for this one first.
Things you may have to pay for
- Food
- Nappies
- Extra hours
- Activities or trips
These must be optional extras. If you do not want to pay for them, your provider should agree on an alternative with you. You can still get the free childcare if you do not pay for any optional extras.
When to apply
You can apply close to the date of your child’s 2nd birthday.
When you can get your hours will depend on when in the year your child turns 2 years old.
| When your child turns 2 years old | When you can apply from | When you can get your hours from |
|---|---|---|
| Between 1 September and 31 December | 1 September | 1 January the following year |
| Between 1 January and 31 March | 1 January | 1 April the same year |
| Between 1 April and 31 August | 1 April | 1 September the same year |
If your two-year-old is confirmed as eligible for childcare part way through a term, this can start from the date they're confirmed as eligible, unless there's less than four weeks left in that term. If this happens, childcare will start from the beginning of the next term and won't be backdated. However, this doesn't stop anyone else paying for childcare (for example, through social care or a relative).
Universal Early Years Entitlement - 15 hours
All three and four year olds are entitled to 570 universal hours of childcare a year paid for by the government, which can be taken as 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year (although some providers may offer different attendance patterns). You can claim from the term after your child's third birthday (September, January or April) and this will stop when they start in reception class (or reach compulsory school age, if later).
Take the following actions to use your 15 hours:
- Find an approved childcare provider on our Live Well B&NES website (all childcare must be provided by an approved childcare provider).
- Ask your childcare provider for a new starter form (EYE2 form) when your child starts with them, at the start of the term after your child's birthday, or any time after this when you want to start claiming for 15 hours.
- Hand your completed form back to your provider with a copy of your child's birth certificate (this only needs to be completed once for any child attending a childcare provider).
- Your childcare provider will do the rest.
You need to sign a form at the start of each subsequent term (September, January and April) to confirm the number of hours your child is attending at their childcare provider. You MUST sign each term to ensure they get paid.
Working Families Funding – 30 hours
Some three and four year old children within working families may be eligible to receive up to 30 hours of funded childcare (term-time only). This funding starts the term after the child turns three years old.
To find out if you are eligible for this funding, and to apply, visit the Government's Best Start in Life Parent Hub.
Early years pupil premium (EYPP)
Your child could be eligible for the early years pupil premium (EYPP), which is funding given to early years or childcare providers to then offer extra support to your child. Support can be anything from, providing extra one-to-one support, to investing in resources which will boost your child's learning.
Eligibility
Children are eligible for EYPP if they receive at least one hour of free early years entitlements provision and their parent or carer receives one or more of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Universal Credit, if the parent or carer’s annual net household income is less than £7,400, not including any benefits
If the child was formerly looked after by a local authority in England or Wales through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order, they are also eligible.
| Age | EYPP entitlement |
|---|---|
| 9-month-olds to 2-year-olds | Payable on the working parent entitlement. |
| 2-year-olds | Payable on either the entitlement for families in receipt of additional support or the working parent entitlement. Should be paid against the former first, if the child is eligible. |
| 3- and 4-year-olds | Payable on the universal 15 hours’ entitlement only. |
For children who meet the income eligibility criteria, EYPP is paid per hour of early education entitlement they receive.
A child who is currently being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales and receives at least one hour of free early years entitlement provision is also eligible for EYPP. For these children, local authorities are required to pay EYPP for the full 570 hours per year, regardless of the number of hours of free early years entitlements the child receives.
Register for early years pupil premium (EYPP)
When you complete new starter forms with your early years or childcare provider, you can check your eligibility for EYPP at the same time. Your childcare provider will check your eligibility using their online portal.
If you are applying for EYPP under one of the non-income criteria, please contact our team on 01225 395505.
You will need your National Insurance Number or National Asylum Seeker Support Number to complete your registration.
Best Start in Life
You could be entitled to other childcare support instead of or as well as the above. Check to see what other childcare support you could get on the Best Start in Life Parent Hub.
No Recourse to Public Funds
Some early education and childcare is funded by the UK government for children in England. Government-funded early education and childcare is not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes, so can be accessed by a child regardless of their immigration status. However, some schemes have eligibility requirements relating to the immigration status of the parent(s) and so may not be available to all families.
The following schemes are available to families regardless of their immigration status:
- 15 hours/week for disadvantaged 2-year-olds
- 15 hours/week is provided universally for all 3 and 4-year-olds
The following schemes, which are available to working parents, have a residence requirement and are generally not available to families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF):
- 30 hours/week for children aged 9 months to 3 years
- Tax-free childcare for children aged 11 and under (or disabled children aged 16 and under)
Meals and snacks are not included in the funded early education and childcare offer, and parents may be charged for these additional services.
For information and instructions on how to apply, please visit the NRPF network website.