At Kids Planet, we know that paying for childcare isn’t always easy, but did you know that government funding has increased for working families and you could get support?
In September 2024, the next stage of the Government’s expansion of funded childcare support is set to be rolled out. This follows the expansion in April 2024 which saw eligible working parents of 2 year olds able to access 15 hours funded childcare. A further phase will begin from September 2025, when 30 hours funded childcare will be rolled out to all preschool children over 9 months.
The changes have been introduced gradually to make sure that nurseries can meet the needs of more families. Like the existing offering, at Kids Planet, these hours can be used over 38 weeks of the year (during school term time), or up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week.
The funding starts the term after your child has turned 9 months old and terms start in January, April, and September.
Your eligibility depends on:
Families who are eligible for certain benefits may be eligible for funding and should refer to Gov.uk for details.
Apply for 15 hours funded childcare when your child is 23 weeks old.
Apply for 30 hours funded childcare when your child is 2 years and 36 weeks old.
If you’re returning to work, the timing depends on your start date.
You will need to apply via the Gov.uk site – Check what help you could get with childcare costs – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
To apply, set up a childcare account. Different schemes exist in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. If you pay for childcare and want help with costs through Tax-Free Childcare, you can apply using the same service.
You will need for each responsible adult within the household:
Once accepted, you will receive a code which you will need to pass to your nursery manager so this can be added to your invoice.
Please be aware that your eligibility for funded childcare including Tax Free childcare needs to be renewed every three months. You will receive a reminder email to the address you registered when applying so keep an eye out for this, make sure the address is in your safe list and be aware that if you miss the renewal date you will need to wait for the next term before applying again.
The funded childcare scheme can be used alongside the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, a government initiative which helps eligible working parents with the cost of childcare. For every £8 you pay into an online account, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2000 per child per year, or £4,000 for a child with a disability. You can pay your Kids Planet bill directly from this account.
Funded childcare is not ‘free childcare’, yet it can sometimes be promoted as ‘free childcare’. This is important to highlight as the scheme provides 38 weeks (term time) of subsidised childcare per week, rather than the full 52 weeks of the year. This means that if you require a nursery space for 52 weeks of the year there is payment required to cover the remaining 14 weeks of the year.
At Kids Planet, this can be spread over the 52 weeks, resulting in fewer hours per week (approximately 10.5). Funding provided by the government is only for the basic cost of childcare and is not designed to include meals etc, however, to save our parents money, all of our nursery fees cover the cost of nappies, wipes, and formula. We refer to this as our ‘All-inclusive’ offering, saving on average over £600 per year (for children in the first 12 months). This is a service not often offered by other early years providers and one not to be ignored.
For ‘fully funded’ families with 15 hours term time only within Kids Planet, we aim to waiver the cost of food and consumables so those eligible are technically receiving ‘free’ childcare but it’s important to know what ‘funded childcare’ means in more detail.
We believe in providing quality early years education and care for every child, and we’re delighted to offer funded spaces to make this accessible for more families.
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