Apply for funded childcare
Apply for the universal offer: 15 hours a week for all families with 3-4-year-olds
Ask your new or existing childcare provider for this. You don’t need to apply through us or the government.
- find an Ofsted-registered childcare provider to apply through
- confirm your child’s age with a birth certificate or passport
- they confirm your funded hours with the government, which pays them directly
ESCIS – Find a childcare provider
Apply for the extended offer for working families
If you’re a working family applying for:
- 30 hours a week for 3-4 year-olds
- 15 hours a week for younger children from April 2024
Follow these steps:
- go to Childcare Choices to check you are eligible
- follow the steps to apply with HMRC and get your 11-digit eligibility code
You must log in to your childcare account and revalidate your code every three months. If you don’t do this, you will lose your free childcare.
Apply for the extended offer through Childcare Choices
Apply for 15 hours a week childcare funding for families of disadvantaged 2-year-olds
- check with us that you’re eligible
- complete an application on Parent Portal
- we give you a 6-digit eligibility code
- find an Ofsted-registered provider and give them your code.
- We pay them directly
Apply for childcare funding for disadvantaged 2-year-olds
Apply for free childcare for foster carers
- check with your child’s social worker that they approve you using a childcare provider
- apply to us – you can do this when your child is 16 weeks away from turning three
- we give you a code and tell your child’s social worker
- give the code to an approved childcare provider, which we pay directly
You and your child’s social worker must reconfirm your free childcare every three months. If you don’t do this you will lose your free childcare
Apply for funding for foster children
Contact us for help
Contact us for help or if you have any questions:
Email: Customer Relations Team
Phone: 0345 60 80 192 (lines are open from 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday)