Government Funded Childcare Hours
The Benefits of Preschool
Many families tend to increase their child’s attendance at nursery as they gradually progress towards preschool. It is also known that increase in the number of days that children attend preschool, may help prepare them for the transition to ‘school’.
Three and four year olds especially, are keen to develop their social skills. A nurturing environment within a preschool can stimulate and support this development in a positive way. Children within a preschool environment also benefit greatly from the expansive learning and holistic development (through play opportunities) that a highly qualified early years professional can provide.
Thus, better enabling them to leave for school well prepared socially, academically and emotionally.
Early Steps Daycare is proud to be able to offer 30 hours funded childcare for all eligible families.
15 hours of free childcare for 2 year olds
Some children may be entitled to 15 hours of free childcare in the term after their second birthday. Early learning for 2-year-olds is only open to children that meet certain criteria.
Families can usually qualify if they claim the following:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income-related Employment and
Support Allowance (ESA)
Universal Credit, and your household
income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
Child tax credits, and your household Income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
The Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
Please refer to the Tower Hamlets webpage for further details on eligibility
Currently in England all 3 and 4-year-olds receive 15 hours a week government funded early education. If their parents are living and working in England, 3 and 4-year-olds may be entitled to 30 hours funded childcare, which equates to 1,140 hours per year in total!
If you are eligible, you will be entitled to access the 30 funded hours from the beginning of the term following your child’s 3rd birthday.
Parents and carers should check with Childcare Choices to see if they are eligible for 30 hours.
To better ensure that families of all attendance types can benefit fully from the funding., we stretch the funding across 50 weeks (as opposed to the term time 38 week period), enabling part-time families to access more of the funded hours than would otherwise be available to them if restricted under a term time structure.
