Childcare funding

They have 15/30 hours free for working parents aswell as non working

You would need to get a job or become self employed before applying. You both need to be earning a minimum of £183 (equivalent of 16 hours at minimum wage) and no more than 100k a year

Is this for your little one you are due to have in April? If so you can get 30 hours for 38 weeks of the year from September - and most likely if your LO is born in April you can access it from the summer term of 2026 (your child needs to turn 9 months BEFORE the term that you apply to have funding for. As long as you can show you will both be earning above the minimum and below the maximum thresholds you should be entitled. If you become self-employed and are in start-up mode for a new business I think they waive the minimum threshold for 3 months, but after that you need to meet it (might tide you over if you don’t have a job by then)

I lost my job in December and have been told that I can’t get the tax free childcare but that (because I’ve paid enough tax) I will still be eligible for maternity allowance and the 15 hours free 🥳 none of the online eligibility checks showed me this though. I had to call them.

Oh that’s really frustrating you had to call them @Gaby. They make it so hard for people to know what support they can get. If only we lived in Sweden…

@Louise ha! Yes. They seem to have WAY better options for maternity/childcare.