The provision Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) enables all 3 and 4-year-old children to receive 570 annual hours of funded childcare. This is equivalent to 15 hours each week based on a 38 week term-time year.

From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of funded childcare. 

From September 2024, 15 hours of funded childcare will be extended down to the age of nine months for working parents.

Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds can also access an additional entitlement up to 1,140 annual hours of funded childcare. This is equivalent to 30 hours each week based on a 38 week term-time year.

Please ask for our guide to Funded Childcare.

Your employer can offer help with childcare by using childcare vouchers which can give a huge saving on your tax and N.I. contributions. To make this saving, your employer will need to pay part of your salary to you by way of childcare vouchers and therefore the cost of childcare is taken out of your salary before tax and NI are calculated. Your employer will need to be registered with one of the childcare voucher schemes. Individual employers have a variety of schemes to choose from, please ask your employer to see if they provide a scheme.

Child tax credit is available to families who have an income of up to £58,000 per year. There is also a higher payment for families who have at least one child under one year old and for families with children that have a disability.

Working tax credit is for parents in lower paid work who are working at least sixteen hours per week. The childcare element of working tax credit can pay up to 70% of the cost of registered childcare.