2 Year Olds
FREE 2 year old places
From September 2013, all families who are eligible for free school meals can access 2 year old childcare places for 15 hours per week.
2 Year Old Funding
Is your 2 year old entitled to free childcare?
As a family, you must be claiming one or more of the following benefits to be eligible for free school meals and the 2 year old funding.
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income related employment and support allowance
- Support under the VI of Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guarantee element of state pension credit
- Child tax credit, providing you are not entitled to working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customers) or that does not exceed £16,190.
Or
- If your child is looked after by the Local Authority
- If your child is accessing the Early Years Support Pathway
Here’s how it works
If your 2 year old is eligible they can access 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per year. The childcare can be taken over a minimum of two days and no session can be longer than ten hours a day or shorter than two and a half hours a day. No sessions to be before 7am or after 7pm and a child is eligible to start the term after their second birthday until the term after their third birthday.