- Current offer is up to 30 hours for children from term after third birthday
- From 1 April 2024, up to 15 hours per week from term after second birthday
- From 1 September 2024, up to 15 hours per week from term after reaching nine months
- From 1 September 2025, increasing to 30 hours per week from nine months upwards
For further information and an eligibility checker, please visit the parent webpage Childcare Choices.
Working parents can apply for funded childcare.
Foster carers can apply through their social worker.
If you are eligible, you will receive an 11-digit code. This code will have a start date and an end date. Give this code to your chosen childcare provider, who can confirm when you can use your code.
To continue accessing funded childcare, parents must renew eligibility by logging into their childcare account. If a parent does not obtain or renew the eligibility code prior to each deadline, the child will not be able to access their working parent entitlements in the following term. The deadlines to apply or renew your eligibility code are 31 March, 31 August and 31 December each year.
Parents can start accessing their working parent entitlement from the term after the child reaches the age of eligibility with a valid eligibility code. To begin accessing funded childcare the eligibility code must be in date.
| Child born between | Entitlement begins |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 31 March | Summer term from 1 April |
| 1 April to 31 August | Autumn term from 1 September |
| 1 September to 31 December | Spring term from 1 January |
If at renewal, your circumstances have changed, and you find that you are no longer eligible for the working parent entitlements, your child can continue to access their funded childcare for a short period. This is referred to as the ‘grace period.’ The ‘grace period’ date is the last date on which your child will receive their funded hours place after falling out of working parent eligibility.
If you do not reconfirm eligibility by the end of the grace period, your working parent entitlement will stop. At that time, if your child is three years old your child can continue to receive 15 hours universal funding. If your child is two years old, you may qualify for disadvantaged funded childcare through the parent portal.
A child cannot start accessing their working parent entitlements or change providers in the grace period.
Funded childcare is normally taken over 38 weeks, providing up to 15 or 30 hours per week, subject to age and eligibility. However, families can stretch this funding further over the year, by using fewer hours per week. Parents are encouraged to speak to their childcare provider about their model of delivery.
Funded early education and childcare must be with an approved Ofsted registered childcare provider.
Providers may charge you for services purchased such as additional hours requested: meals, nappies, or trips. Your childcare provider will ask you to provide evidence of your child’s date of birth and sign a parent declaration form to receive your funded childcare entitlement.
You may be able to use Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credits whilst claiming your funded childcare support. For eligibility criteria and further information please visit Childcare Choices.
To find a childcare provider in your area, please visit the Family Services Directory Lincolnshire FSD