2 Year Old Funding - Eligibility
If you have child who is two years old they may be eligible for 15 hours funding per week during term time. This criteria is different for children from the term after they have turned 3. We have listed below the current eligibility criteria but if you are unsure give us a call and we will happily talk you through it.
As with three year old funding, a child becomes eligible from the term after their 2nd birthday (although on occasions the Council do allow some mid-term starters). It is funding that needs to be applied for though so you should enquire / apply ahead of the child turning two.
At Little Owls we do also offer the option for children to ‘stretch’ the 15 hours to cover the whole year which would broadly provide a child with a full day of funded care every week from 7.30am to 6pm
To attend Little Owls as a funded two year old this is current criteria;
- Your home address is in Nottinghamshire
- You are in receipt of one of the following benefits;
- Income support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related employment support allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Guarantee element of state pension credit
- Child tax credit and also that your household’s yearly income does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs)
- You receive Working Tax Credits and your household’s gross annual earnings are no more than £16,190 as above
- Universal Credit – if you and your partner are on a low income from work (this usually means a combined income of less than £15,400 after tax)
- Your child receives Disability Living Allowance.
Or
- Your home address is in Nottinghamshire
- Your child is classed as a ‘looked after child’
- Your child has left care through special guardianship or an adoption or residence order
Or
- your child has an Education Health and Care plan.
If you’re a non-EEA citizen who cannot claim benefits your 2-year-old may get free childcare if you are getting support under the Immigration and Asylum Act and have either:
- claimed asylum in the UK and are waiting for a decision (known as ‘part 6’)
- been refused asylum in the UK (known as ‘section 4’)
A 2-year-old you care for may also get free childcare if your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, and you have any of the following:
- leave to remain with ‘no recourse to public funds’ on family or private life grounds
- support from your local council because you have ‘a child in need’, for example they have a disability or a child protection plan
- the right to live in the UK because you’re the main carer of a British citizen (known as a ‘Zambrano Carer’)