Free Childcare Parental Survey

The government has recently announced that they intend to expand the offer of free childcare for working parents to children aged from 9 months to 3 years old.

The rollout of the offer will be phased over the next couple of years as follows:

• April 2024 – 15 hours free childcare will be available to eligible working parents of two year old children from April 2024
• September 2024 – 15 hours of free childcare will be available to eligible working parents of children aged from 9 months
• September 2025 – 30 hours of free childcare will be available to eligible working parents of children aged from 9 months

For more information please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

To be eligible parents/carers must meet the following criteria:

Both parents/carers are working (or the sole parent/carer is working in a lone parent family), and each parent/carer earns, on average, a weekly minimum equivalent of 16 hours at National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (£167 per week) and less than £100,000 per year. Working includes both employed and self-employed.

Every Local Authority has a duty to ensure there is enough childcare in their area to meet parental demand. This consultation will provide vital information to ensure that Hertfordshire has sufficient childcare options in place to be able to deliver the additional free childcare from April 2024.

This survey is aimed for expectant parents and parents with children under 3: surveys.hertfordshire.gov.uk/s/DTDN3R