30 Hours Extended Entitlement - Information for Practitioners

Providers please be aware that parents must have applied and secured a 30 hours code by the 31st March for their child to be funded for the additional entitlement from the Summer Term.  The child must have had their 3rd birthday by the 31st March to be eligible for funding from the Summer Term. A child is entitled to the additional free hours the term following their 3rd birthday or the term following the date the code was issued, whichever is later.

Please see the Provider Early Years Entitlement Bulletins for further information about the 30 hours offer. 

Parents should apply for their 30 hours code via the Childcare Choices website 

Important information for childcare providers regarding the Early years Entitlements, please read the downloads to the right of this page.

If you are not yet registered as a Childminder but are interested in finding out more, please look at the Useful Information at the bottom of the page. By clicking on "Introduction to Childminding" you will find all the information you will need to know, together with a copy of the booking form.

 

What do I need to do if I am interested in taking the Nursery Funded Entitlement for 2, 3 & 4 year old funding?

Please read the Gloucestershire Provider Agreement and print off the Declaration page only, sign and return it either by scanning and returning via e-mail to free34funding@gloucestershire.gov.uk or posting to Funding Team, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester GL1 2TG.  If a signed Declaration is not received, this could jeopardise your provision’s receipt of funding.  In order to avoid GCC having to take this action, please ensure that you return your signed Declaration as soon as possible.

The most recent version of the Gloucestershire Provider Agreement can be found on the Funding Information link for providers.

Help Parents Understand the Entitlements

You can help parents work out which childcare entitlement would suit them best by encouraging them to complete the Childcare Choices Calculator (www.gov.uk/childcare-calculator). This calculator informs parents which entitlements they are eligible to claim. 

They will need the following information ready to use the calculator and apply for their childcare entitlement:

  • Parent’s name, address and National Insurance number and the same details for their partner (if they have one)
  • Child/ren’s date of birth
  • Details on their income
  • Details on any benefits they or their child receives

You can keep yourselves up to date by regularly visiting the website www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/providers.

Partnership Approaches to 30 Hours Childcare

If you’re considering working in partnership to deliver 30 hours childcare there is a new toolkit to support partnership approaches. The Family and Childcare Trust toolkit, developed following the 30 Hours Mixed Model Partnership project, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) is designed to support mixed model partnership approaches to delivering the extended free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds.

This interactive toolkit will help you set up or join a partnership, maximise the benefits of working together and tackle the challenges joint working can bring. It contains practical advice, guidance and case studies.   

Gloucestershire County Council has also produced a guide to partnership working to support providers, which can be found here.

Promotional materials for 30 hours

HMRC have produced a ‘communications toolkit’ which includes logos, top things parents and providers should know’ Q&A, a factsheet for parents on how they can use their 30 hours’ entitlement etc. 

Updated Early Years Entitlements Operational Guidance for Local Authorities and Providers

The DfE has updated their Operational Guidance. Providers will find this helpful in understanding the new 30 hour extended entitlement.

October 2017 update

November 2017 update

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Page last reviewed: 10/02/2022

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