All 3- and 4-year-old children are entitled to 15 hours of funded early years education and childcare per week, across 38 weeks of the year.

You can use your funded childcare:

• by claiming less than the 15 hours if you do not want to use the full amount
• understanding that a maximum of 10 hours can be claimed in any one day
• understanding that your child can attend a maximum of 2 sites in a single day

You can choose to take this Funded Entitlement at any of the following registered ‘providers’:

• pre-school playgroup
• private day nursery
• childminder (who is registered to deliver the funded places)
• maintained nursery school
• nursery class in a primary or independent school.
• out of schools clubs

The funded entitlement can be taken flexibly within the following limits:

• between 6.00am to 8.00pm
• a maximum of 10 hours can be taken in one day
• a maximum of 2 sites per day

Stretched offer

The stretched offer is for children who only take up their funded entitlement, for example, they do not access more than 570 hours childcare across the year and are not paying for additional hours. The stretched offer is not to be confused with spreading a parent’s bill over 12 equal monthly payments so they pay the same amount each month.

Children can access their funded early education place in 1 of 3 ways:

1. the standard “term time only” model: 15 hrs per week for 38 weeks per year (570 hrs per year)

The stretched offer models:

2. 51 week model: up to 11 hrs per week across 51 weeks per year (561 hrs per year)

3. 48 week model: up to 11.75 hrs per week across 48 weeks per year (564 hours per year)

Please note: if a child accesses the stretched offer, they will not be able to access the full 570 hours funded entitlement across the year. Parents must be made aware before they agree to a stretched offer that they will not receive their full entitlement.

A child can stretch the offer at 2 providers.

For children who access more than the funded hours, providers can pro-rata the bill over a 12-month period so that parents pay an equal amount each month. This is not the same as “stretching the offer”.

Contact your provider as not all can offer the stretched offer.

Additional charges

Some providers may charge for meals, snacks or optional extras as these may not always be included within the funded entitlement. If you take more than 15 hours per week or more than 38 weeks per year there will be a charge from the provider for these additional hours. Check with your provider for full details of any additional charges.

Claiming the Funded Entitlement

To claim the Funded Entitlement:

• you must let your provider know that you would like to claim the Funded Entitlement and how many hours you would like to claim each week
• your provider will give you a ‘Parent Declaration Form’ for you to fill in, and they will claim funding on your behalf from the local authority for the Funded Entitlement
• each term, providers have a deadline for claiming this funding. The local authority may not be able to fund a child who has not taken up a Funded Entitlement place by this date
• you'll need to specify at which provider(s) you would like your child to take their Funded Entitlement place and how many hours you would like to claim at each provider
• funding is for a minimum of half a term; if your child moves to another provider during a term then you need to inform the new provider as soon as possible, to see if there is a place available. You may not be able to claim the full entitlement if your child moves setting mid-term

Please note: if your child attends a place in a school nursery, reception class or nursery class, then the hours attended will be offset against the Funded Entitlement that your child is entitled to, so they may not be eligible for any additional Funded Entitlement.

Your provider will be able to give you more details on how to claim your Funded Entitlement place.