Working Families: Free Childcare for 2 year olds (New 2024)

As well as families who qualify due to receiving additional government support, from April 2024, eligible working families in England will also be entitled to 15 hours free early education over 38 weeks of the year. From September 2025 the number of hours will rise to 30.

Some providers may allow you to stretch these hours over more weeks, using fewer hours per week.

To check if you are eligible under this new criteria, please set up or log into your Government Gateway account (opens new window) and apply for a code online. 

If you are eligible for free childcare as a working family, your code will need to be revalidated every three months. For more information please visit the Childcare Choices website (opens new window).

Disability Access Funding (DAF)

The Disability Access Fund aids access to early years places by, for example, supporting providers in making reasonable adjustments to their provision and/or helping with building capacity.

Children will qualify if they meet the following criteria:

• The child is in receipt of child disability living allowance (DLA) and;

•The child receives free early education.

The providers eligible for the DAF will be entitled to receive a one-off payment of per year. In 2025/26 the amount is £938.

Children in receipt of the DAF will be eligible where they take-up any period of funded entitlement.

DAF is payable as a lump sum once a year per eligible child. If a child is splitting their funded entitlement across two or more providers, parents must nominate the setting to receive the DAF. If a child receiving DAF moves from one setting to another within a financial year, the new setting is not eligible to receive the funding for this child within the same financial year.

Parents must declare their child's eligibility on the parent declaration form.

Providers must send evidence of a child's eligibility to DLA to their funding officer prior to making a claim.