Early Years Funding for under 2s

From September 2024, under 2s (9 months to 23 months) from working families will be eligible for Early Years Entitlement funding for 15 hours per week over 38 weeks, term time only (or stretched offer equivalent). 

In September 2025, this entitlement will double to 30 hours per week over 38 weeks, term time only (or stretched offer equivalent).

Eligibility

To find out if you are eligible you will need to apply via the Childcare Choices (opens new window) to get an eligibility code. Once you receive a valid eligibility code, please present it to your chosen early years provider.

Parents will be able to apply from 12 May 2024

It's important to remember that codes need to be renewed every three months, so parents who apply before 1 June will need to make sure they renew their code before the offer starting in September.  Failure to renew a code in time may result in a parent becoming ineligible to access their entitlement.

You can claim from the term after your child's ninth month birthday.