Two year old funding

Playing outside at Lark Hill

What is two year old funding?

The Starting Life Well Service manages the funding from the Department for Education that supports free childcare places for two year olds.

Two year old funding is not available for all two year old children. Families must meet a criteria to be eligible and places may be limited.

The Department for Education (DfE) say that the funding is to be aimed at the most economically disadvantaged two year olds and their families. The aim is:

to improve outcomes for parents by supporting them to take up training or go back to work
to improve learning outcomes for two year olds in order to close the gap between those children living in the most disadvantaged communities

How many hours can a parent/carer access?

Parents/carers can access up to 15 hours of free childcare term time only (38 weeks of the year) or up to 11 hours of free childcare all year round (51 weeks of the year). Please note this will be subject to the preferred childcare providers' opening times and availability.

Essential criteria

To be considered for two year old funding a child and their family must meet the following criteria:

To be a looked after child

The term 'looked after' was introduced by the Children Act 1989 and refers to children who are subject to care orders and those who are voluntarily accommodated. Here are some examples of looked after children:

Parents or guardians have agreed with a social care team that a child/young person will be cared for away from home
A child/young person is being cared for away from home because of a court order
There is no responsible caring adult available to look after a child/young person permanently
A child/young person is being cared for away from home because of a court order
A child/young person is placed for adoption but has not yet been legally adopted by your new permanent family
Many unaccompanied asylum seekers are also looked after

Or in receipt of at least one of the following:

Benefits:

Income Support
Income based Job Seekers Allowance
Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element
Extra Working Tax Credit relating to a disability
Pension Credit

And meet at least two of the following:

Other eligibility:

Black and minority ethnic families
Lone parents
Teenage/young parents
Traveller family
Child has a speech and language delay as identified by the speech and language assesor
Family has four or more children under the age of five
Parents/carers have poor maternal health or mental health issues
The family has experienced domestic violence
Parents/carers have substance and/or alcohol issues

Postcode areas

Families are given consideration if they live in one of the postcode areas identified through the ‘Better Off In Salford' Family Poverty Strategy. This will be verified by using the full postcode home address.

Asylum seeking/refugee family - "with status"

Asylum seekers are not in receipt of certain benefits which means that they would not be eligible to access this fund. However, we will consider each referral with consideration if they are receiving support under Part V1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Who provides the free childcare?

Salford has lots of quality childcare providers. The two year old funding can only be taken with childcare providers who are on Salford's approved list to deliver free childcare sessions for two year olds. Parents/carers may have some choice as to how and where they take the free childcare place, but this does depend on who has vacancies and how they can be delivered. There are a large number of childcare providers across Salford who offer the funding. We will help parents/carers choose which provider can best meet the child's needs.

Once the child has a place and the parents/carers are happy with the placement the child will remain with that childcare provider, as they will automatically be transferred over to the funding for three and four year olds, even if their circumstances change, for example they return to work.

From what date is the two year old child eligible for funded sessions?

There are three different funding periods in the year. The child becomes eligible for funding at the beginning of the period after their second birthday. The following table shows when these funding periods are:

Child has second birthday between	Child can claim from
1 January to 31 March	1 April
1 April to 31 August	1 September
1 September to 31 December	1 January

How do parents/carers access the two year old funding?

Parents/carers can apply online or they can contact their local Sure Start children's centre, or speak with any professional/agency working with the family such as, health visitor, social worker, family support worker. They will complete an application form with them and submit it to us for consideration.

What else do providers need to know?

Parents/carers do not have to buy additional hours or "top up" sessional costs
Parents/carers should not be charged for any part of the placement
Parents/carers need to inform Tax Credits of any reduction in your nursery fees
Parents/carers will be asked for their consent for information to be shared with other agencies, e.g. children's centres, primary care trust, childcare providers, speech and language team
Providers will be asked to verify the parents/carers benefit eligibility

If you have any questions or queries, please email SLW@salford.gov.uk.

This page was last updated on 10 April 2012