Families urged to claim NOW for free childcare hours worth £7,500 a year before deadline

FAMILIES are being urged to claim NOW to get free childcare hours worth around £7,500 a year. Parents can get up to 30 hours of free childcare a week through a Government scheme. However the deadline is fast approaching if you want to be covered with the free help from September onwards. You need to apply by the end of next month to receive the support, so it’s worth starting your application ASAP to give yourself plenty of time. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! If you miss the deadline, you’ll need to wait until December to apply so you can start claiming your hours from January. To keep getting the free childcare hours, you’ll need to reconfirm your details every three months. Many parents believe they’ll receive the free childcare hours automatically, but this isn’t the case and you’ll need to apply to receive a code that can then be sent to your provider. Rebecca Lamb, external relations manager at Money Wellness, said it’s worth applying early so you can resolve any issues before the deadline. “It’s also worth checking with your childcare provider, as many ask for your eligibility code before the official cut-off so they can process funding in time,” she said. If you’ve applied before, you should have another look at your eligibility to see if anything has changed since last time. Most read in Money “Lots of parents don’t realise that changes like returning to work or increasing their hours can affect the support they’re entitled to and you could be missing out,” Ms Lamb said. The Government estimates the support is worth around £7,500 a year. To qualify, you must live in England and work at least 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage. You meet this criteria if each parent earns more than £10,158. However, there is a limit for high earners, as you cannot claim the 30 hours if either parent earns over £100,000 a year. You can apply for help from September if your child turned nine months old between April 1 and August 31. The full eligibility criteria for free childcare hours can be found on the Childcare Choices website – http://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. How to get the free childcare You can get up to 30 hours of free childcare for the next three months but you must apply soon Credit: Getty You’ll need to log on to the gov.uk website to apply. First set up a childcare account – you will need some personal information to hand. This includes your National Insurance number, and your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number if you’re self-employed. You will also need the UK birth certificate reference number (if you have one) of any children you’re applying for and the date you start or are due to start work. The application should take around 20 minutes to complete. Find out more via http://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working. If your application is approved, you’ll be sent an 11-digit code that proves you’re eligible to get free childcare. You then give this code to your childcare provider. To keep getting free childcare hours you have to confirm your details are correct every three months via your childcare account. Who's eligible for free childcare hours? YOU could get up to 30 hours of free childcare per week through the Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme if you meet these conditions: Child’s age: Your child must be between 9 months and 4 years old and live in England. From September 2025: All children aged 9 months to 2 years will qualify for 30 free hours per week. Income: Each parent must earn at least £166 per week (equal to working 16 hours at minimum wage) and no more than £100,000 per year. If you’re not eligible for the 30-hour scheme, you can still get 15 free hours per week for all 3 and 4-year-olds, starting from the term after their third birthday until they begin school. This is available to everyone, regardless of income or benefits. Your 2-year-old can also get free childcare if you live in England and meet any of these conditions: You receive benefits like Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or Universal Credit (with a household income of £15,400 or less after tax, not including benefit payments). You get the guaranteed element of Pension Credit. Your child is also eligible if they: Are in the care of a local authority. Have an education, health, and care (EHC) plan. Receive Disability Living Allowance. Have been adopted or are under a special guardianship or child arrangements order. Taking up the 15 free hours for 2-year-olds won’t affect your benefits Comment now