How to use your Working Parent Entitlement for 9-to-35-month-olds entitlement
The entitlement has no monetary value. However, you are entitled to up to 570 hours free childcare per year. The year starts when your child first becomes eligible for funding. They must also be in the correct date of birth range.
Not all providers offer the entitlement. You may need to contact them to confirm.
Headcount week
Your child must attend the Kent headcount week to claim Working Parent Entitlement for the term.
Your child's attendance during headcount week determines the funded hours. You cannot increase the hours until the next term. To find out when the headcount week is, talk to your childcare provider.
Your child cannot start a new childcare place at a provider during a grace period. This includes when a parent:
- has fallen into their grace period before your child has started their childcare place and,
- seeks to move your child to a different provider, when you have already fallen into their grace period.
Your child must attend the Kent headcount week to claim the free early education and childcare for that term.
Late joiners
Late joiners can claim if their child:
- is moving to Kent from another local authority after headcount week or;
- has not claimed at another setting in Kent during that academic period.
If you have not claimed the full 15 hours during headcount, you cannot increase the number of hours your child attends in the middle of the term.
Transfer funding during headcount week
Providers are under no obligation to transfer funding. If you switch providers after the headcount week, you might need to pay the new one until the start of the next term.
An appeals process is in place for exceptional circumstances such as a move, due to adoption or domestic violence.
Split your hours
You can split your hours over more than 1 provider, but at no more than 2 sites in a day. To meet your childcare needs, you can use 2 providers. The providers must be willing to work together.
You can use your childcare entitlement between 6am and 8pm for a maximum of 10 hours a day.
Providers will have their own pattern of delivery (hours and days) for the entitlement. You can see this information at your childcare setting.
Stretched funding
Some providers may offer a stretched pattern of hours. This means you receive fewer hours each week but for more weeks of the year. For more information, discuss this with your chosen provider.
If a provider is not open for the full 38 weeks per year, you cannot claim more than 15 hours each week over fewer weeks of the year. If you choose a provider that is open for fewer than 38 weeks of the year you will not be able to receive your full entitlement.
If the childcare provider has offered you a place, you will need to provide:
- your child's birth certificate
- the National Insurance number of either parent who made the application
- your eligibility code (the 11-digit number supplied by HMRC).
The provider will then verify and validate the code. They will ask you to complete a Parental Declaration Form. You will then agree a start date for your child to begin accessing your childcare place.