Funded childcare for eligible 2-year-olds

From April 2024, there will be 2 different streams of funding available to help parents of 2-year-olds with their childcare costs.

If eligible, you can only access one of the schemes, however you can use either alongside the Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit for childcare.

15 hours of funded childcare for families on a low income or on certain benefits

Your 2-year-old is eligible if you receive any of the following benefits:

Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
Child Tax Credits and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

Or:

the child gets Disability Living Allowance
the child is looked after by a local authority
the child has left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order
the child has a statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education, health, and care plan (EHCP)
if your immigration status says you have 'no recourse to public funds', and your household income is below a threshold dependent on the number of children in your household

Your 2-year-old is eligible if:

you, and any partner, must each expect to earn at least £167 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage), and less than £100,000 a year
both parents are employed but one (or both parents) is temporarily away from the workplace on:
- parental leave
- maternity, or paternity leave
- adoption leave
- statutory sick pay
one parent is employed and one parent has substantial caring responsibilities based on specific benefits received for caring or is disabled or incapacitated based on receipt of specific benefits