Funding

GOV.UK Best Start in Life hub – gives all the information of what funding you can apply for and how to do it. If you are unsure please contact us and we can
help you with this as it can be confusing. Free funding available for working parents

Who Can Apply?

You can apply if all of these are true:

You live in England.
Your child is over 9 months old.
You (and your partner, if you have one) each earn at least £183 per week on average (16 hours at the National Minimum Wage).
Neither you nor your partner has a net income over £100,000 a year.

Handy to know: If you’re on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or can’t work because of a disability or you’re a carer, you can still apply.

When to Apply?

You must have your code before the term starts, and the application deadline
depends on when your child becomes eligible.

Here’s how it works:

You can apply when your child is 23 weeks old, and the funded hours begin in the term after your child turns 9 months.

Application deadlines align with term start dates:

Apply by 31 August for childcare to begin from 1 September
Apply by 31 December to start 1 January
Apply by 31 March to begin 1 April

Handy to know: Applying early – at least 4 weeks before the deadline -can help you avoid delays in processing

Keep Your Code Active

To keep your funded hours running smoothly, you’ll need to reconfirm your
details every three months in your GOV.UK childcare account.

It only takes a few minutes and means:

Your details stay up to date.
Your code stays valid.
You avoid any break in your government-funded hours.

What you need to do check if you are eligible for funding via the Gov.uk Best start in life hub.

Receive your eligibility code and share with The Nest staff.

Available funding at a glance

There are a few different funding options, but the best way to find out what you are entitled to is to go to Best Start In Life childcare support checker
When you enter your details it will give all of the funding options available to you. If you are unsure then we can support you with this .

Your child must be 9 months before 31st September, 31st march and 31st August to be able to claim the funding for the following term.

9 months plus

Eligible working families will be able to claim 30 hours of funding. Working families must meet the following criteria: you, and any partner, must each expect to earn on
average more than £195 per week, this is equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage, and one income must not exceed £100,000 per year.

If a parent is on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, the date they plan to return to work may affect when the family can access the funding support. If they plan to
return to work from parental leave or start a new job within 31 days of the start of term, they can apply for a childcare code at the same time as everyone else.

If your return to work date is more than 31 days after the start of term you’ll be ableto access your entitlement from the start of the following term.

Working Parent Entitlement:

Eligible working families are now able to claim 30 hours of funding from 9 months. For all eligible working families.

Working families must meet the following criteria: you, and any partner, must each expect to earn on average more than £195 per week, this is equal to 16 hours at the
National Minimum or Living Wage, and one income must not exceed £100,000 per year.

Other Schemes

Tax Free Childcare

For every £8 you pay in, the government will automatically add £2, up to the value of
£2,000 per child per year. The eligibility criteria is the same as the working families
criteria for funding. You will use the same account that you created to access this
funding to apply for tax free childcare.

Universal Credits Childcare

If you pay for childcare while you go to work, Universal Credit can pay some of your
childcare costs.

Learn More

Tax credits

If you already claim tax credits, you can add an extra amount of Working Tax Credit
to help cover the cost of childcare.