New Entitlement for 2-year-olds
More information will follow regarding the new entitlements as they are implemented but the rollout will be as follows:
- Up to 15 hours of funding for children aged 2 from 1st April 2024
- Up to 15 hours of funding for children from 9 months from 1st September 2024
- Up to 30 hours of funding available for all under 5’s from 1st September 2025
All three- and four-year-olds (and some eligible 2 year-olds) can get up to 570 hours of free early years education per year. Your child will automatically become eligible for free early years education in the funding term after their third birthday and Little Popples will apply for this funding from Devon County Council during 'Headcount' week, which is once every term.
30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds and Tax-Free Childcare/Childcare vouchers are also available for working preschool parents. The following article will give you comprehensive details on what works for working families: https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/already-get-vouchers-should-i-switch-to-tax-free-childcare/. Please also see this link, which includes a calculator on how much childcare support you can expect to receive https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
You can apply for your 30 hour code here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-30-hours-free-childcare
It is important that you allow good time to apply as any queries with new applications or reconfirmations can cause delays.
Please also see the myth busting Q&A sheet on Tax-Free childcare below.
We do accept children from the age of 2, but this is dependent on whether we feel they are ready and how well they settle in the preschool environment.
More information is available here Funded childcare for 2-year olds.
Parents can check their eligibility for 2-year-old funding on the Citizens' portal.
For any general questions relating to the application and eligibility checking of any 2-year-old funding, you can email Devon County Council using this email address: 2info@devon.gov.uk
You will need to have applied and received a code by a certain date in order to access 30 hours at the start of a funding period as follows:
| Valid code with start date of on or before | Funding Period |
|---|---|
| 31 August | Autumn (from 1 September) |
| 31 December | Spring (from 1 January) |
| 31 March | Summer (from 1 April) |
You should allow plenty of time to apply to ensure that a valid code is received well ahead of the deadline. You can apply for 30 hours before your child is eligible for 3 and 4-year-old funding but you must have a valid code at the start of the funding period. Please note: if you become eligible after the start of a funding period, or eligibility has ended prior to the start of the funding period, you must wait until the following period to access your 30 hour place.
All eligible parents MUST reconfirm, their 30 hours and Tax-Free Childcare entitlement every 3 months.
Any parent wishing to apply for 30-hour funding must have received confirmation that their child is eligible before the start of the term in question and be issued with an 11-digit code.
