Guidance

30 hours free childcare: local authority and early years provider guide

How local authorities and early years settings should provide the entitlement for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.

From:
Department for Education
Published
21 April 2017
Last updated
20 February 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

Early education and childcare: operational guidance

Ref: DFE-00187-2018

PDF, 1.55 MB, 48 pages

30 hours free childcare for foster children aged 9 months and above

PDF, 219 KB, 9 pages

30 hours free childcare for foster children: application form template for local authorities

MS Word Document, 45.9 KB

Free early education for 2-year-olds from families with no recourse to public funds

PDF, 1.53 MB, 12 pages

Application form for free early education for 2-year-olds from families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

MS Word Document, 71.6 KB

Details

‘Early education and childcare: operational guidance’ sets out:

  • what local authorities should do to fulfil their statutory responsibilities
  • what early years settings should do to fulfil their agreement with the local authority
  • how local authorities and early years settings can support parents and children

The ‘30 hours free childcare’ guidance shows how local authorities should meet their statutory responsibilities to foster children.

Local authorities can add their own information to the application form and use it for foster parents applying for 30 hours free childcare for children in foster care.

‘Statutory’ means what schools and local authorities must do to comply with the law. You should follow statutory responsibilities unless you have a very good reason not to.

The ‘free early education for 2-year-olds’ guidance explains how local authorities can verify a parent’s eligibility for a funded early education place, for 2-year-olds from families with no recourse to public funds.

Updates to this page

Published 21 April 2017
Last updated 20 February 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added guidance document: '30 hours free childcare for foster children aged 9 months and above'.

  2. '30 hours free childcare for foster children: application form template for local authorities' has been updated to align with policy changes, such as widening the age range to include children from 9 months to 4 years old.

  3. The guidance 'In effect from September 2022 - Free early education for 2-year-olds from families with no recourse to public funds' and 'Application form for free early education for two-year-olds from families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)' have been added.

  4. Updated the links to the specification for a level 3 SEND qualification, level 3 SENCO job description and free SEND resources on page 35 of the operational guidance.

  5. Updated guidance and added application form.

  6. Updated guidance following feedback from the sector: text reordered and clarified throughout.

  7. First published.

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