Additional 15 Hours Childcare Entitlement – Capital Bids

Tender description

The Department for Education (DfE) plans to increase the entitlement of free funded early education and childcare places for children of working parents. All children are entitled to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per year from the start of the term following their 3rd birthday. From September 2017, this will increase to 30 hours per week for those children whose parents meet the following criteria: Both parents are working and/or: • One parent working in lone parent family (earning equivalent of 16 hours a week on National Minimum Wage or Living Wage including those receiving tax credits or Universal Credit) • One/both parent(s) is away on leave (parental, maternal, etc.) • One/both parent(s) on Statutory sick • Both parents earn less than £100,000 each per annum One parent is employed and: • Other parent has either: substantial caring responsibilities and/or disability The additional hours may be taken in term time, over 30 weeks, or stretched over the whole year and accessed flexibly to meet the needs of working parents. Capital funding, of £40 million across the country, is now being made available through a local authority bidding process to support the delivery of the government commitment to provide 30 hours free childcare for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds from September 2017. Keywords: Lone Parent, Childcare, Children Services, Capital Funding, Departmnet of Education, Early years