Childcare entitlement for working parents

Childcare entitlements for working parents

If you're a working parent, you may be entitled to funded early education and childcare for your child, from nine months old to four years old. For more information please visit Childcare Choices.

How it works

• The funded hours are up to 570 hours a year.
• Funded for 38 weeks per year (15 hours per week), or fewer hours per week spread across the full year.
• Use them with registered childcare providers . This includes nurseries, childminders, and preschools.
• You can split hours across more than one provider
• There is an eligibility criteria. It is essential that parents reconfirm eligibility every three months.

Apply early

We advise parents to apply well in advance of deadlines shown below as some applications can take 14 days to be resolved. If a code is not issued by the start of a funding period, the child will have to wait until the following funding period before they can take up the extended entitlement (see below for table).

The application process above is managed by HMRC. Their Childcare Choices website also offers a comparison guide for all the ways you can reduce childcare costs. The HMRC Childcare Choices helpline number is 0300 123 4097.

• Once you have confirmed your eligibility with HMRC, you can start claiming from the beginning of the next funding period, ie 1 April, 1 September or 1 January.

• The deadline for receiving your HMRC code is the last day of the month, before the next funding period starts. For example, to access extended entitlement from 1 January the code you receive from HMRC must be dated on, or before, 31 December. If you apply for and are eligible but are not issued with an HMRC code by 31 December, the extended funding entitlement will be available from the following funding period 1 April.

• If you are eligible you'll get an 11 digit eligibility code. You will need to keep this safe, as you will need to provide this to your childcare provider to access your place along with your child's date of birth and your national insurance number. 

• Every three months, you'll need to reconfirm that you're still eligible for the extended entitlement. HMRC will send a reminder four weeks before the deadline. You don't need to update your provider every time you reconfirm, however please notify your provider if you are no longer eligible.

• You can also create an optional account on our Citizen Portal (Cambridgeshire County Council) to help manage your funding requests and view your funding period, see ‘Citizen Portal’ FAQ below.

Deadline

Grace period

If the parent is no longer eligible for the working family entitlement, they will enter a grace period. The grace period enables parents to retain their childcare place for a short period of time following the reconfirmation period.

They must remain with the same providers for the grace period to apply. Once the grace period ends, if the parent remains ineligible, the entitlement will finish. If they are 3+ years they will still be entitled to the universal 15 hours.

Choosing a childcare provider

You will need to choose one or more eligible childcare providers that have the capacity to offer you a childcare place/s for the hours you need. Visit our Childcare Information page where you can search for local provision and look at the types of childcare available. You can find local childcare providers in the Childcare Directory.

Additional charges may apply for certain services at specific childcare providers, and not all entitlements may be available at all times of day. Please check with providers for any restrictions or additional charges.

Frequently asked questions

We have put together some commonly asked questions to give you more information on childcare funding.