Understanding the various funding options for childcare can be confusing, particularly when you live near the Welsh border and have to understand both England’s and Wales’ funding options.
Flintshire offers a scheme known as Early Entitlement and allows for:
- 5 sessions a week (one per day) of 2 hours duration OR
- 4 sessions a week (one per day) of 2.5 hours
This means you can claim up to 10 hours a week.
In order to qualify, the setting must be registered with Early Entitlement, so do check this before you sign your child up. Settings that do receive funding must also adhere to several criteria. The setting must:
- Have an up-to-date inspection from Care Inspectorate Wales
- Have qualified staff
- Be inspected by Estyn
- Provide the sessions stated above
You can apply if you don’t live in Flintshire but your child attends a nursery or pre-school in Flintshire. Dodleston is located in England, so the pre-school here doesn’t qualify for Early Entitlement. Instead, you can apply for Early Years Funding.
The funding goes directly to the school or nursery each month, so you don’t have to pay it and claim it back.
It is, however, worth noting that you may need to top up the fees for private nurseries. This is to meet the cost of a full morning or afternoon session.
Before applying
Before you apply for Early Entitlement, you should first check that your chosen childcare provider is registered for Early Entitlement and that they meet the criteria above.
Once you’ve confirmed this, you may also want to check the number of hours they can take your child per week. Your child can attend for more than 10 hours, but the extra time will need to be paid for by you.
You can apply for the scheme via the Flintshire council website.
The Childcare Offer for Wales
The Childcare Offer for Wales is different to Early Entitlement. This scheme means you could claim up to 30 hours of childcare a week for up to 48 weeks of the year. It currently applies to 3 year and 4 year olds.
