Eligible working parents of children from nine-months-old in Wolverhampton are now able to register for access to up to 15 hours of funded childcare per week.
This will then be granted from September and is the latest step in the roll out of Government-funded childcare. In England, all parents of children aged three and four can already claim 15 hours of funded childcare per week, for 1,140 hours or 38 weeks a year, at an approved provider.
This is extended to 30 hours where both parents are, or the sole parent is, in work, earn the weekly minimum equivalent of 16 hours at the national minimum or living wage, and have an income of less than £100,000 per year. Last month, 15 hours of funded childcare was extended to working parents of children aged two, as long as they earn more than £8,670 but less than £100,000 per year.
For couples, the rule applies to both parents. People in receipt of certain benefits are also eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare for two-year-olds, known as Terrific for Twos in Wolverhampton.
This autumn, the 15-hour funded offer will be extended to working parents of children aged from nine months, and parents whose children will be at least nine months old on 31 August can now apply to receive this from September. It will be available the term after the child turns nine months old.
One final change to the childcare offer in England will be rolled out in September 2025, when eligible working parents of all children under the age of five will be able to claim 30 hours of funded childcare a week. Councillor Jacqui Coogan (pic), the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “Every year hundreds of families in Wolverhampton benefit from funded childcare schemes at participating nurseries, schools and childminders around the city.
“Accessing early education gives your child the chance to learn, play and make new friends and the opportunity to develop and master new skills. It supports them as they prepare for school by helping them to communicate, explore new experiences, be active and healthy – and of course, it also helps working parents juggle careers and childcare.
“I would encourage working parents to find out more about the expansion of funded childcare and to sign up if they are eligible." To find out more, including how to apply for support with childcare costs, please visit the Childcare Choices website, www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
