From the term after a child turns 9 months of age, children from working families who meet the following criteria can access 15 funded hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. 

Eligibility criteria

1. the parent must have a National Insurance number and be a British or Irish citizen or have:
   • settled or pre-settled status, or be waiting for a decision following application, or
   • permission to access public funds
2. families must be living in England and:
   • the parent of the child (and their partner where applicable) should be seeking the funded childcare to enable them to work
   • the parent of the child (and their partner where applicable) should be in qualifying paid work. Each parent or the single parent in a lone parent household will need to expect to earn the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the national living wage or their national minimum wage rate over the forthcoming quarter
   • where one or both parents are in receipt of benefits in connection with sickness or parenting, they are treated as though they are in paid work
   • where one parent (in a couple household) is in receipt or could be entitled to be in receipt of specific benefits related to caring, incapacity for work or limited capability for work, they are treated as though they are in paid work

Where a parent is in a ‘start-up period’, for example they are newly self-employed, they do not need to demonstrate that they meet the income criteria for 12 months to qualify for the funded hours for Working Families.

If either or both parents’ income individually exceeds £100,000, they will not be eligible for the funded childcare for Working Families.

Applications

Applications for funding must be made to HMRC before the term starts and must then be refreshed every 3 months. If applications are made after the start of term, funding cannot start until the next term. 

Families will be sent an Eligibility Code to give to their child’s setting, along with proof of the child’s date of birth. 

Apply for funded childcare for Working Families