Early Years Education Funding

15 Hour Universal Funding

We accept Government Early Years Entitlement Funding for 3 and 4 year olds.

The government funds the Local Authority to ensure a free part-time early education place is available for 3 and 4 year olds in settings that have been inspected and deemed suitable in terms of quality and provision.

3 and 4 year old children are entitled to free early years education from the term after their third birthday. The entitlement is restricted to a maximum number of hours in each funding period as listed below.

Autumn – 210 hours
Spring – 165 hours
Summer – 195 hours

The minimum that can be claimed per day is 2½ hours and the maximum is 7 hours. In addition to this the maximum entitlement is 15 hours per week.

As a parent you do not contribute towards the entitlement but will be charged for any additional childcare.

We will claim the funding on your behalf. All you have to do is complete a child registration form and parent declaration form and produce a copy of your child’s birth certificate or equivalent legal documentation to the nursery.

More information can be found at somerset.gov.uk

WORKING PARENTS

30 Hour Additional Funding for 3/4 year olds

15 Hour Funding for 2 year olds - From April 2024

You can apply for 30/15 hours funding online here.

Parents/Carers will need to meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for up to 30/15 hours funded childcare:

They earn or expect to earn the equivalent to 16 hours at National Minimum or Living Wage
This equates to £120 a week (or c.£6,000 a year) for each parent over 25 years old or £112.80 a week (or c.£5,800 a year) for each parent between 21 and 24 years old.
This applies whether you are in paid employment, self-employed or on zero hours contract.
The parent (and their partner where applicable) should be seeking the free childcare to enable them to work
Where one or both parents are on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave, or if they are on statutory sick leave
Where one parent meets the income criteria and the other is unable to work because they are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have been assessed as having limited capability to work
Where a parent is in a ‘start-up period’ (i.e. they are newly self-employed) they do not need to demonstrate that they meet the income criteria for 12 months
If a non-EEA national, the parent must have recourse to public funds

PLEASE NOTE: This funding is only available for 38 weeks of the year. If you wish to use this funding on an ‘all year round’ basis it will not equate to 30 hours a week. For more information, please visit the Childcare Choices website.

2 Year Old Funding

2 year old funding is available for parents/carers who currently receive any of the following.

Income Support (IS)
Employment Support Allowance (Income Related) – not Contribution related
Income-based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA) – not Contribution based
Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
Support under Park VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Child Tax Credit with an annual taxable income (as assessed by HMRC) of less than £16,190

If you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit you are not eligible to receive funding for 2 year olds.

Please call Somerset County Council on 0845 3459122 for advice. They will enter your details onto an online system, which will tell you if you are entitled or not.

Tax Free Childcare

If you are a working parent with children under 12 (or under 17 for disabled children), you can open an online account to pay for registered childcare.

The government will top-up the money you pay into the account, for every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2. You can receive up to £2,000 per child per year – that’s up to £500 every three months. If you have a disabled child, you can receive up to £4,000 per child – that’s up to £1,000 every three months.

Am I eligible?

You, and any partner, must each expect to earn (on average) at least £125 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage).

If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or you are unable to work because you are disabled or have caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible.

You can’t get Tax-Free Childcare if either you, or your partner, each individually expect to earn £100,000 or more.

You can use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as:

You can not use it with: