Information for parents
The Childcare Offer for Wales provides up to 30 hours per week of government funded early education and childcare for eligible working parents and eligible parents in education or training of three and four-year-olds, for up to 48 weeks of the year, 39 weeks term-time and up to nine weeks of holiday provision. Please note three holiday weeks are allocated per term on a pro-rata basis.
The 30 hours is made up of a minimum of 10 hours early education and a maximum of 20 hours childcare. The amount of childcare you can receive will depend on the amount of early education offered by each local authority.
Parents can choose up to two providers for term-time provision and up to two providers for holiday provision
Eligible children will be able to access the childcare element of the Childcare Offer from the term following their third birthday until they are eligible to receive a full-time education place.
Important information
Bridgend has an enhanced full-time early education policy for three-year-olds. This means, any child who is three on or prior to 31 August will be eligible for full-time early education in school from September. At the start of the school term when a child is eligible to receive a full-time education place, the child will no longer be eligible to access the Childcare Offer during term-time, however, can continue to access the holiday provision of up to nine weeks per year up until 31 August after they turn four.
Parents will not be able to turn down a full-time early education place in favour of continuing to access the Childcare Offer during term-time. This still applies if you decide against applying for a school place or turn down a school place.
The Childcare Offer can be taken up in provision registered to provide the Offer such as:
- nurseries
- childminders
- playgroups
- crêche
- out of school care
Where a school offers a staggered start to the term, parents will not be eligible to use the Childcare Offer for these term-time days when their child is not actually in school.
Eligibility
- your child must be three or four and live in Wales
- you must earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average
- each parent must earn less than £100,000 per year
- parents of lone parent families need to be working or be in education or training
- parents of two parent families must both be working, or, both parents must be in education or training, or one parent must be working and one parent be in education or training
- parents who are self-employed or on a zero hours contract need prove their eligibility and provide relevant documents
- parents who are on adoption leave if it is in line with the child’s Adoption Support Plan
- Parents who are in education and/or training in either:
- In respect of Higher Education – a parent must be enrolled on either an undergraduate or a postgraduate course, including those delivered via distance learning, that is at least 10 weeks in length
- In respect of Further Education – a parent must be enrolled on a course which is delivered via a FE Institution, that is at least 10 weeks in length.
Exemptions to eligibiity
There are certain benefits that may still allow a two-parent family (where one is working) to be eligible. These are:
- incapacity benefit
- carers allowance
- severe disability allowance
- employment and support allowance
- national insurance credits on the Grounds of Incapacity for Work or Limited Capability for Work, and
- payment from the Armed Forces made to seriously injured veterans
There are other exceptions that are relevant to single and two-parent families. These are:
- if you are temporarily away from the workplace or formally suspended studies for reasons relating to statutory parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, you may still be eligible for the Offer, and
- kinship parents, guardians, and foster parents, as well as parents who have no recourse to public funds, can access the Offer as long as they meet the eligibility criteria for the offer
- one parent is working and one parent is in receipt of qualifying benefits; or, one parent is in education or training and one is in receipt of a qualifying benefit
How to apply
To apply for the Childcare Offer for Wales national digital service, you will need to sign in using Government Gateway. If you do not have a Government Gateway account, you will need to create an account. Once you have signed in this way, you can start your application.
There needs to be one lead parent to complete the application, even if shared custody is in place.
Please have the following information to hand:
- National Insurance number, email address and contact number
- Home address and postcode
- Employment address with postcode
- Household partner employment address with postcode
- Average weekly earnings for you and your household partner
- Gross annual salary for you and your household partner
- Consent of household partner to provide this information
- Child(ren) Name(s) and Date of Birth – exactly as on birth certificate
Please do not apply prior to the application opening date, as your application will be automatically rejected.
| If your child is born between | Eligible from | Eligible to | Applications open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2021 and 31 December 2021 |
6 January 2025 (spring term) |
31 August following their 4th birthday 2026
|
Open |
| 1 January 2022 and 31 March 2022 |
28 April 2025 (summer term) |
31 August following their 4th birthday 2026 | Open |
| 1 April 2022 and 31 August 2022 |
2 September 2025 (autumn term) |
31 August following their 4th birthday 2026 | 18 June 2025 |
| 1 September and 31 December 2022 |
5 January 2026 (spring term) |
31 August following their 4th birthday 2027 | 21 October 2025 |
| 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2023 |
13 April 2026 (summer term) |
31 August following their 4th birthday 2027 | 27 January 2026 |
You will require proof to show the age of your children, your address, your earnings and income and the earnings and income of your household partner (if applicable).
Child Identification
Full version of your child's birth certificate, or, if you do not have the full version, you’ll need both:
- Short version of the birth certificate
- Proof of parental responsibility such as:
- Child benefit letter
- Tax credit letter
- Letter from your local authority nursery admission department
- Child’s medical record or red book
Proof of address – dated within the last 3 months:
- Most recent council tax statement or most recent utility bill, such as gas, water, or electric;
- Latest council tax statement;
- If living with parents, a signed letter from them to confirm this is your normal residence.
- Latest bank statement
Proof of earnings
- Parent's last three months or 12 weeks wage slips for parent one AND parent two (if applicable);
- Newly employed – job offer letter/contract of employment (it must indicate the start date, number of hours to be worked and annual/monthly salary);
- Employers contact details, including: address, telephone number and email;
- Most recent DWP letter to confirm eligibility for one of the qualifying benefits;
- Department for Work and Pensions letter or current employer’s letter that would qualify parents for the Childcare Offer if not currently in work;
- If self-employed (including foster caring) you’ll need one of the following:
- Latest Self-Assessment tax return including Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number and registration date (SA302);
- Copy of latest accounts;
- Letter from your accountant about how much you earn.
Proof of any additional annual income – (and partner details)
If you earn any of the following as additional annual income, we will require evidence of this:
- Bonus
- Dividends
- Rental Income
- Maintenance allowance
- Foster care allowance
- Income from interest
- Other
Proof of education or training
- Evidence of formal enrolment on a relevant HE or FE course. Where a parent has applied and been offered a place on a relevant, HE or FE course, but has not yet been able to enrol, they should provide evidence of a formal offer of a course place.
- Please check with your chosen childcare provider(s) to ensure that they have registered to become a provider of the Childcare Offer for Bridgend County Borough. Arrange childcare providers hours and days, prior to completing application.
- Please ensure you have all the evidence required for the application and that all documents are saved as either a PDF or as an image file.
- On receipt of confirmation of the offer parents will be required to request childcare offer hours with their chosen provider.
For further information about the Childcare Offer for Wales digital service please visit the Welsh Government website.