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@Amy ohh ok, thanks. He'll actually turn 1 in October and is due to start nursery the week after his birthday
@Amy ah right, thanks so much for looking into it for me. I'll definitely give them a call tomorrow to double check what their reasoning is!
Also might be worth noting that your nursery might not allow you to apply for funding mid term, if I'm right that means starting funding either in September or January (I could be totally wrong though)
@Kimberley I'll check, thanks!
I’m not sure if nursery’s have to accept the funded hours, or whether they can set their own limits of what they accept? Obviously depends if they’re council or private I guess. My daughter is going to a preschool starting at 2.5 that doesn’t accept any means tested hours, only the universal 15 free hours from 3 years old.
They have to be enrolled in nursery at the start of the term so if he isn’t starting until after his bday then you won’t get the hours until January. We’re starting ours in sept even though I won’t go back officially until November so that a) we can ease them in slowly b) we will then have the hours when I go back to work
I’m sure it’s 15 hours for children under 3 years old?
@Ceri-Ann I’m sure that’s not right though, the funding is available the term after they turn 9 months, it might have something to do with when you apply for the funding though. @Kay I think the poster is asking about the working parent entitlement, not FEET funding.
If you are working parents he will be entitled to 30hrs from when he starts. You just need to apply for the code prior to his start date and be working by September 30th to receive it. You wouldn't need to apply mid term. You just apply for the code, have it ready for when he starts. My baby will turn 1 on October 21st. She will start nursery 4 days after her 1st birthday. As she turns 9 months prior to September, Our nursery has already confirmed that she will be entitled to the full funding of 30 hrs (or the 22 stretched as they do it).
@Kay it's changing in September 2025
That makes it clearer, thanks all!
@Ceri-Ann not always the case, I applied and was eligible for funding for my daughter from January but she didn't start until this month when I returned properly to work (I had a return to work period over Christmas which is why I was eligible from January, if I didn't then I wouldn't be eligible until April). I just gave the nursery the code when I applied and they started using it when she started. OP- If baby turns 9mo before 31st August and you return to work before 30th September (doesn't mean foot in the door, can be on annual leave), plus you meet the other eligibility criteria regarding income, then you can apply for the funding before 31st August and baby should get the 30 hours.
September they are offered 30 hrs but before only 15hrs
@Amy from what I’ve been told the funding is available the term after they turn 9m (not half term) but if the nursery do not use the code at the start of the term they cannot then use it until the following term. Whether it varies from council to council but this is what we have been told in our area @Carys the nursery likely would’ve enrolled your child from the start of term and provided the code to the council then with a delayed date of funding
It’s 30 hours from the term *after* they turn 9 months. So, for example, if he turns 9 months in Sept then he’d be eligible for 30 hours from January 2026.