Early Years Funding

15 hours (Universal hours)

All three- and four-year-olds are entitled to up to 15 hours a week funded childcare from the term AFTER their third birthdays.  The cut-off dates are as follows

If your child's birthday falls between...	He or she will be funded from...
1st April – 31st August	Autumn Term (September – December)
1st September – 31st December	Spring Term (January – March)
1st January – 31st March	Summer Term (April – July)

In order for us to apply for funding for your child, we will need you to complete a form which we provide.  We will also need evidence of your child's date of birth, either birth certificate, passport or red health book.

30 hours (Extended hours)

At Beehive, we can offer eligible parents up to 30 hours funding.  To be eligible, all parents in the household (either two parents, or a single parent) need to be working the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage up to a maximum salary of £100,000 per year per individual.  Parents don't necessarily need to work 16 hours a week but their earnings must reflect at least 16 hours at the National Living Wage.   To find out more, check your eligibility and apply, please visitwww.childcarechoices.gov.uk   Please note, 30 hours funding does not happen automatically, you MUST apply during the term before you start using the funding (cut off dates as above).

The 'stretched offer' – funding all year

As Beehive is open all year, rather than just during school terms, we are able to offer you flexibility in how you use your funding. We can offer 'stretched' funding which means you could use fewer hours each week but have funding all year round instead of just during term time. For example, if your child is entitled to 15 hours a week, term time, you could stretch your funding and use 11.5 hours a week for 50 weeks. If your child is entitled to 30 hours term time, you could use just under 23 funded hours per week for 50 weeks each year.

Funding for two-year-olds

Unlike funding for three- and four-year-olds, two-year-old funding is means or status tested. If you live in Suffolk and your two-year-old is eligible for funding, you should receive a 'golden ticket' from Suffolk County Council which you can pass on to us to prove your child's eligibility. You will probably be eligible if you are in receipt of the following benefits:

Working Tax Credits and have a household income below the eligibility threshold

Child Tax Credits and have a household income below the eligibility threshold

Income Support

Income based Jobseekers Allowance

Income related Employment Support Allowance

The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit

A child who is eligible for Disability Living Allowance

A child who has left the care of the Local Authority under a special guardianship order, child arrangement order or adoption order

A child looked after by the Local Authority

We can offer up to 15 hours funding per week for eligible two-year-olds. Children become eligible the term after their second birthday (see table above).

 

Tax-free Childcare

If you're a working parent with children under 12 (or under 17 for disabled children), you can open an online account to pay for registered childcare. The government will top-up the money you pay into the account. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2. You can receive up to £2,000 per child - that's up to £500 every three months. If you have a disabled child, you can receive up to £4,000 per child - that's up to £1,000 every three months.

You, and any partner, must each expect to earn (on average) at least £125 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage). If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or you're unable to work because you are disabled or have caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible. 

If either you, or your partner, expect to earn £100,000 or more, you can’t get Tax-Free Childcare. You can’t use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as childcare vouchers, Universal Credit or tax credits. You can use it with the 15 hours and 30 hours schemes.