Funding

Help with childcare costs - Kent County Council

New childcare funding from April 2024

Between April 2024 to September 2025, childcare support will change. By September 2025, most working families with children under 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare.

The changes will happen in phases.

Phase	Month	The change
1	April 2024	Eligible working parents of 2 year olds can apply for 15 hours childcare support.
2	September 2024	15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents of children from 9 months to 3 years old.
3	September 2025	Eligible working parents of children under 5 years old, will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week.

Some 2-year-olds can get up to 15 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year.

Some childcare providers offer fewer hours per week over extra weeks (up to 570 hours).

This is a national childcare scheme and is for 2-year-olds who meet the government criteria. In Kent we call this scheme 'Free for 2'.

Once you have been confirmed eligible for a free 2-year-old place, the funding will remain with your child until they take up their free 3-year old place. Even if your circumstances change.

Child born between	Will become eligible for free early education and childcare
1 January and 31 March	The start of term 5 following their second birthday (after Easter holiday)
1 April and 31 August	The start of term 1 following their second birthday (after summer holiday)
1 September and 31 December	The start of term 3 following their second birthday (after Christmas/New Year holiday)

 

Working Parents

If you are an eligible working parent, you can currently apply for 15 hours of childcare for your 9 to 35-month-old.

If you apply more than 3 months before the start of the new term, you will need to reconfirm your details before the end of the month before the start of the new term. This is to ensure you are still eligible.

Some childcare providers may offer fewer hours per week over more weeks of a year (up to 570 hours). This is known as stretched funding.

The Department for Education sets the dates for when children become eligible by age.

Here are the applicable dates for the entitlement from 9 months and 2 years and application deadlines.

9-month-olds and above

Child born	Child turns 9 months	Will become eligible for free childcare	Deadline for applying
1 July to 30 November	1 April to 31 August	The start of term 1 (after summer holiday)	31 August
1 December to 31 March	1 September to 31 December	The start of term 3 (after Christmas/New Year holiday)	31 December
1 April to 30 June	1 January to 31 March	The start of term 5 (after Easter holiday)	31 March

 

2-year-olds

Child born between	Will become eligible for free early education and childcare
1 January and 31 March	The start of term 5 following their second birthday (after Easter holiday)
1 April and 31 August	The start of term 1 following their second birthday (after summer holiday)
1 September and 31 December	The start of term 3 following their second birthday (after Christmas/New Year holiday)

 

3 and 4 year olds 

All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare each week for 38 weeks a year.

Some childcare providers may offer fewer hours per week over more weeks of a year (up to 570 hours). This is known as stretched funding.

The Department for Education sets the dates for when children become eligible by age. The dates apply to both the universal (15 hours) and extended (30 hours) entitlement.

Child born between	Will become eligible for free childcare
1 January and 31 March	The start of term 5 following their third birthday (after Easter holiday)
1 April and 31 August	The start of term 1 following their third birthday (after summer holiday)
1 September and 31 December	The start of term 3 following their third birthday (after Christmas/New Year holiday)

 

Eligible working families with 3 and 4 year olds can receive up to 30 hours of free childcare each week. This is 15 extra hours of free childcare. This is in addition to the universal entitlement and is called extended entitlement.

It is available over 38 weeks a year. Some providers may offer fewer hours per week over more weeks (up to 1,140 hours total for the 30 hours).

The Department for Education sets the dates for when children become eligible by age.

Child born between	Will become eligible for free childcare
1 January and 31 March	The start of term 5 following their third birthday (after Easter holiday)
1 April and 31 August	The start of term 1 following their third birthday (after summer holiday)
1 September and 31 December	The start of term 3 following their third birthday (after Christmas/New Year holiday)

When to apply

You must apply for your 30-hours eligibility code in the term before your child becomes eligible by age. If they are already eligible by age, apply in the term before you wish to take up the offer.

If you don't apply within the recommended timeframes, you may not get your code in time.

If you receive your code, and do not apply before the deadline, you can only take your childcare place until the term after.

When your child turns 3	When they can get 30 hours from	Recommended time to apply	Deadline for applying
1 September to 31 December	1 January	15 October to 30 November	31 December
1 January to 31 March	1 April	15 January to 28 February	31 March
1 April to 31 August	1 September	15 June to 31 July	31 August