When is best to apply?
| When does your child turn 3 | When will you be eligible for the 30 hours | Whens the best time to apply |
| 1st September – 31st December | 1st January | 13th October to 30th November |
| 1st January – 31st March | 1st April | 13th January to 28th February |
| 1st April – 31st August | 1st September | 13th June to 31st July |
Eligibility for 30 hours childcare?
Parents of three and four year olds will need to meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for 30 hours free childcare:
- They earn or expect to earn the equivalent to 16 hours at National Minimum or Living Wage over the coming three months.
- This equates to £120 a week (or c.£6,000 a year) for each parent over 25 years old or £80 a week (or c.£5,800 a year) for each parent between 21 and 24 years old and £56 a week for apprentices in their first year.
- This applies whether you are in paid employment, self-employed or on zero hours contract.
- The parent (and their partner where applicable) should be seeking the free childcare to enable them to work.
- Where one or both parents are on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave, or if they are on statutory sick leave.
- Where one parent meets the income criteria and the other is unable to work because they are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have been assessed as having limited capability to work.
- Where a parent is in a ‘start-up period’ (i.e. they are newly self-employed) they do not need to demonstrate that they meet the income criteria for 12 months.
A parent will not meet the criteria when:
- Either parent has an income of more than £100,000
- If one or both parents is a non-EEA national and the parent applying does not have recourse to public funds
What happens if a parent loses eligibility?
- They will receive a ‘grace period’ – this means they will be able to keep their childcare for a short period.
- Once the ‘grace period’ has lapsed, the parent should be entitled to the universal 15-hour entitlement
How do parents apply for the 30 hours free childcare at Nunthorpe Nurseries Group?
- Complete our form above and we will be in contact
- Parents can apply now if their children were born on or after 1st September 2012.
- Parent applies and if successful, they will be presented with an eligibility code.
- There will be an eligibility code per parent / child combination, therefore multiple birth siblings will each have their own code
- Parent to bring their code to any of our nurseries to show they are eligible for the additional 15 hours free childcare.
- Parent will use this code to access their additional 15 hours of childcare and we will ask for your National Insurance number and the child’s date of birth in order to verify the code
- Eligibility codes will be valid for a 3 month period and parents will be asked to reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months and declare any changes to their circumstances
When can my child take the additional 15 hours free childcare place?
Your child will be able to take up their place from the term after their 3rd birthday. For example, if your child was three in October, they would be entitled to take up their place from the beginning of the spring term, which starts in January.
Does my child need to take up the full 30 hours per week?
It is the parents choice. Some parents feel their child is not ready to attend the full 30 hours a week and they choose to start their child on fewer hours.
Important information
Parents who already have an eligibility code need to reconfirm their eligibility for 30 hours and / or Tax-Free Childcare every 3 months.
Tax-Free Childcare
Parents using 30 hours may also be able to save money with Tax-Free Childcare on their additional childcare costs. We would be grateful for your support in encouraging parents to save with Tax-Free Childcare – helping them with their Easter holiday childcare costs.
Parents can receive up to £2,000 per child, per year through Tax-Free Childcare – to go towards everything from childminders and nurseries to after-school and holiday clubs. We’d be grateful for your support in promoting the scheme to local parents and childcare providers, to ensure as many parents as possible can benefit from support with childcare
For more information you can ring any of our nurseries
Acklam Children’s Day Nursery 01642 817165
Billingham Children’s Day Nursery 01642 566993
Ingleby Barwick Children’s Day Nursery 01642 764606
Marton Children’s Day Nursery 01642 824040
Minnows Children’s Day Nursery 01642 245599
Nunthorpe Children’s Day Nursery 01642 322580
Poppets Children’s Day Nursery 01642 314363
TAD Centre Children’s Day Nursery 01642 224225
Teesdale Children’s Day Nursery 01642 606868
Family Information Service
Middlesbrough: 01642 354200
Stockton: 01642 527225
Redcar and Cleveland: 0800 073 8800
There are several ways you may eligible for Free Childcare hours / a grant
For more information please visit nunthorpenurseriesgroup.co.uk/fees/ or www.childcarechoices.gov.uk