FREE 2 year old places
All families who are eligible for free school meals can access 2 year old childcare places for 15 hours per week.
Is your 2 year old entitled to free childcare?
As a family, you must be claiming one or more of the following benefits to be eligible for free school meals and the 2 year old funding:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guarantee element of state pension credit
- Child Tax Credit, providing you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income that does not exceed £16,190
Your child may also be eligible if they are looked after by the local authority, or are accessing the Early Years Support Pathway.
Here’s how it works
If your 2 year old is eligible they can access 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per year. The childcare can be taken over a minimum of two days, and no session can be longer than ten hours a day or shorter than two and a half hours a day. No sessions can start before 7am or finish after 7pm. A child is eligible to start the term after their second birthday, until the term after their third birthday.