In England, children from the age of 9 months to 4 years are entitled to 570 hours of early years education and childcare. This must be spread over no less than 38 weeks of the year.
Parents and carers can choose to stretch entitlement over more than 38 weeks and up to 52 weeks. This means taking fewer hours per week, subject to a maximum of 570 hours a year.
Go to our suggested weeks page for examples of how to stretch entitlement.
Entitlement by age group
For children aged 3 to 4 years, entitlement:
- begins the term after the child turns 3 years old
- ends the term after the child's fifth birthday when they reach compulsory school age
For children aged 2 years, entitlement begins the term after the child turns 2 years old.
For children aged 9 months to 2 years (from 1 September 2024), entitlement begins the term after the child turns 9 months old.
Entitlement from September 2025
Children aged from 9 months could receive up to 30 hours of early education and childcare per week over 38 weeks of the year. This is equal to 1,140 hours per year.
Eligibility Criteria
A child will be eligible from the term after:
- they have reached the relevant age
- their parent has a current confirmation of eligibility from HMRC
Both of these conditions must be met.
Children who qualify will receive working parent entitlement until the beginning of the term after they turn 5 years old.
Parents and carers can choose to stretch entitlement over more than 38 weeks and up to 52 weeks. This means taking fewer hours per week, subject to a maximum annual entitlement.
Go to our suggested weeks page for examples of how to stretch entitlement.
During registration, providers must see the child's birth certificate or passport to confirm their age. They must record this on the parent declaration form.
Children in a state-funded, academy or independent school reception class are not entitled to additional funded hours. This is because the entitlement is met through reception class provision.
A child who takes up their working parent entitlement part way through the year will receive a portion of hours based on the time left in the year.
How to apply
To receive the working parent entitlement, parents must apply online using Childcare Choices.
HMRC determines eligibility through this online application. We cannot assist with the process. The only exception to this is children in foster care as detailed in the next section.
Parents who are unable to apply online must contact the HMRC Customer Interaction Centre on 0300 123 4097. Centre staff will complete the application on their behalf over the phone.
Foster carers
A child in foster care will be eligible for the working parent entitlement:
- the term after the child has reached the relevant age and is under compulsory school age
- if accessing the entitlement is consistent with the child’s care plan
- if a foster parent in a single-parent family has other paid employment
- if foster parents in a 2-parent family both have other paid employment
Foster parents who want to apply for the working parent entitlement should discuss this with their social workers. The social worker will help with the process of filling in the form.
Eligibility codes
In most cases, eligibility codes are valid for 3 months.
Providers must check the expiration dashboard on the provider portal regularly. It is the providers responsibility to make sure codes are still within date.
HMRC will send 2 email reminders to the parents. Providers are expected to notify parents when eligibility codes are due to expire and remind them to reconfirm.
It is a parent’s responsibility to reconfirm the eligibility code.
Grace period
The grace period begins the day after the code’s ‘eligible to’ date.
A child will enter the grace period when parents either:
- stop meeting the eligibility criteria
- are too late in their reconfirmation
The grace period end date will automatically be applied to eligibility codes.
To view the end date, go to the provider portal's expiration dashboard. The date will be found in the individual child's records under 'headcount tasks'.
If a parent is unable to renew their eligibility, we will continue to fund a place for the child until the grace period end date.
The grace periods are set out below.
| Date parent receives ineligible decision on reconfirmation | Grace Period end date |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 10 February | 31 March |
| 11 February to 31 March | 31 August |
| 1 April to 26 May | 31 August |
| 27 May to 31 August | 31 December |
| 1 September to 21 October | 31 December |
| 22 October to 31 December | 31 March |
Limits
The following limits apply to the working parent entitlement:
- A child cannot claim the working parent entitlement in the same term an eligibility code is issued. This is the case even if they attended the setting previously.
- If their eligibility code is in its grace period on the first day of term, the child:
- cannot start a new entitlement place
- can continue to access the entitlement with the same provider
Changing provider is considered starting a new place. A child who changes provider mid-term must have had a valid eligibility code on the first day of the term. This is the case even if they were claiming the working parent entitlement with their previous provider.
More information
The following will open in GOV.UK: