Free early education and childcare for three and four year olds

Children aged three and four are entitled to 15 hours of free early education a week for 38 weeks per year. Children become eligible at the start of the term following their third birthday.

• You must use the hours over at least two days per week.
• Sessions must last for at least two hours and 30 minutes and for no more than ten hours.
• Sessions can not start before 7am or finish after 7pm.

The child can attend any school, nursery or other educational setting regardless of where they live. It does not have to be within Gateshead.

You can use the entitlement across two providers, provided they both agree to this. Not all providers will be able to offer flexibility. They may offer a fixed pattern of hours for the child to attend.

Some providers will offer the option of having less hours each week over more weeks. This is often called "stretching" the entitlement.

It is your choice whether to take up extra hours. Providers can only charge for hours after the free entitlement. Any invoices you receive from the provider must identify the free entitlement. You will not have to pay for a uniform or a registration fee, if only attending for 15 hours.

Providers often stagger children's start dates, to make starting school or nursery easier. This could mean the child may not access their full entitlement.

You will need to agree the days and times of the child's attendance on a declaration form. If the provider agrees you may be able to change the days and time the child attends at the start of the following term. 

How to apply

Contact the provider(s) you want to use and ask if they offer three and four year old free entitlement places. Please access the Family Information Service Directory for details of childcare providers. Contact us if you aren't able to find what you need.

You can report a childcare provider if you have any concerns.

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.