Free part-time early education

All three and four year olds are entitled to a free part-time early education place. This means your child will be eligible for 15 hours of free education a week, for 38 weeks a year. The part-time places are available in school nursery classes, state or private nursery schools, day nurseries, pre-schools and with accredited childminders who are part of a quality assured network.

Local authorities use the following dates for determining a child's eligibility to receive a free place.

The aim being that the 15 hours will be flexible, offering parents the opportunity to access a place for 5 hours over 3 days, or 3 hours over 5 days. Many local authorities have already started to introduce the extended offer in stages.

It is very simple to claim these hours, please contact the pre-school to register your child for a place, complete an information form about your child, provide us with a copy of their birth certificate and we will do the rest!

Childcare vouchers

Childcare vouchers may be offered by your employer as a benefit-in-kind, on top of existing pay, as part of a flexible benefits package or most commonly as part of a salary sacrifice scheme. Salary sacrifice means that an employee formally agrees to a reduction to their taxable salary and instead receives that amount in childcare vouchers. The vouchers are non-taxable and exempt from National Insurance Contribution.

Working parents can save up to £55 per week by using childcare vouchers to help pay for childcare. The vouchers can be used for any form of Ofsted registered or approved childcare, for children from birth to 15 years (or 16 if disabled) and can include nurseries, childminders, nannies, breakfast clubs, after school clubs and holiday clubs.

Usually employers register with a voucher company who provides them with the childcare vouchers, which they distribute to their staff who choose to enroll on the scheme. Employees can then use the vouchers to 'pay' their childcare provider. The childcare provider will then be able to redeem the value of the voucher directly from the childcare voucher company. Payment is usually made by direct debit payment into the setting's bank account.

Childcare Tax Credits

There are two forms of tax credits for childcare that parents should be aware of. Neither affects your normal Child Benefit.

Child Tax Credit

All parents with one or more children are entitled to Child Tax Credits - whether or not they work. The tax credit is based on your household's income and is paid directly to the person with principal responsibility for caring for the children.

Working Tax Credit

The Working Tax Credit is a benefit available to those on low incomes who work for 16 hours or more per week; it is not specific to parents. However, for parents there is a childcare element to the credit, which provides help towards the costs of approved or Ofsted registered childcare.

You can only claim for childcare costs that you actually pay for - so if you receive money or vouchers for childcare from other sources, such as a local authority or your employers, you will not be able to claim those amounts again. The maximum amount you can receive through tax credits to help pay for childcare, is £140 per week for one child and £240 per week for two or more children. You may receive less, depending on your income and childcare costs. Further information, claim forms and leaflets - as well as confirmation on whether your personal circumstances make you eligible for help - are available from HM Revenue and Customs.

The Directgov and Paying for Childcare websites provide further guidance on the range of financial support available to people with young children and how parents can access the support.