Reminder of the Upcoming Changes to the Funding Entitlements from September 2025
Working Parent Entitlement: Increase from 15 to 30 hours from September
From September 2025, the working parent entitlement will increase from 15 hours to 30 hours. This means that any child already receiving 15 hours of working parent entitlement will automatically receive 30 hours from September (as long as they have renewed their code and they remain eligible for the funding), and any new children eligible or applying for working parent entitlement from September will receive 30 hours.
They don’t need to apply for the additional hours and the code will remain the same.
It’s just very important that parents/carers remember to reconfirm their code.
For parents / carers wishing to apply or reapply for the working parent entitlement, they must do so by 31st August at the latest. If they apply on 1st September or later, the code won’t be valid for the Autumn term. They will only be able to use it from January, as long as they continue to confirm and they remain eligible.
What you need to do:
- Ensure that parents/carers have a valid code if they are claiming Working Parent Entitlement – check it in the Portal
- Ask parents/carers how many hours they wish to claim for the next term
- Ensure that parents/carers complete a Parent Declaration Form for the new term with the number of funded hours they are claiming
- Submit your Estimates in the Portal by 5th September 2025
- Submit your Actuals in the Portal by the deadline soon to be announced (NB: Actuals are not yet open, look out for an email)
Tips for submitting your Estimates:
- When submitting your estimates, remember that a child who claimed 15 hours per week with you last term, may now be able to claim 30 hours – check with the parent how many hours they wish to take and ensure that this is what is submitted with your Estimate.
- The number of hours that you submit for your Estimate is the total number of funded hours per week for ALL children in that age category. You don’t enter individual child details with your Estimate. For example, if you have one disadvantaged two year old taking 15 hours and two working parent two year olds taking 30 hours, that would be a total of 75 hours for your two year old estimate (1 x 15 hours and 2 x 30 hours = 75 hours per week)
- Ensure that you are entering the correct number of hours for the correct age range. If you enter the hours in the wrong category, then you could get underpaid or overpaid with your interim payment, resulting in an adjustment to your final payment. For example, a child turning 2 in September will still come under the ‘under twos’ category of funding.
- Only submit estimate hours for children who are confirmed to be attending with you in the Autumn Term and who are eligible for the funding they are claiming in the Autumn Term. This will avoid you having to pay back any hours as a result of an overclaim in your Estimate.
- Once you have submitted your Estimates, you can continue to amend or add / delete hours up until the deadline – you just resubmit your Estimate claim in the portal, and it will override what was last submitted.
- If you don’t submit any Estimates, you won’t receive any interim payments. You will only receive payments for valid claims that you submit in your Actuals.
- You must submit your Actuals as well as your Estimates in order to receive the full funding for valid claims in the Autumn term. The opening date for the Actuals in the Portal is usually later than the Estimates – look out for an email confirming when you can submit your Actuals.
Checking Codes
If you receive a working parent entitlement code from a parent/carer you must check the code in the Portal to ensure that it is a valid code for the Autumn Term.
For a code to be valid for the Autumn Term, it must have a start date of 31st August 2025 or earlier. If the start date is 1st September or later, then it’s not valid for Autumn Term.
You must also check the validity end date of the code – if the validity end date is before 1st September, then the parent/carer must reconfirm the code before the validity end date, in order for it to remain valid for the Autumn term, even if it is valid when you check. For example, a code with a start date of 31st August and end date of 30th November is fine for the Autumn term. But if the code has a start date of 1st September and end date 30th November, it wouldn’t be valid for Autumn term. Or if the code had a start date of 29th May and an end date of 28th August, it wouldn’t be valid for Autumn term unless the parent reconfirmed before the deadline.
Not all Funding Entitlements are increasing from September
The Lewisham 2s funding (formerly known as Disadvantaged Two-Year-Old Funding) will remain at 15 hours per week. It won’t increase to 30 hours. This is the funding that children can claim from the term after they turn two if the family is in receipt of certain benefits or government support. For children to be eligible for this funding, they must have a Letter of Eligibility issued by Lewisham Council only. They don’t need a code from HMRC for this funding – they should instead apply via Lewisham Council - Free early education for two-year-olds
The Universal 15 hours for 3- and 4-year-olds (from the term after a child turns three) will remain at 15 hours per week. Some children may be eligible for an additional 15 hours per week (the ’30 hours’ extended entitlement). There is no change to this process or this funding entitlement. Parents don’t need to apply and no code or letter is necessary.
Funding for Under Twos and Two-Year Olds is NOT universal. The only funding available for these ages is either the Working Parent Entitlement (from the term after a child turns 9 months) or Lewisham 2s funding (from the term after a child turns 2) and parents/carers must prove their eligibility for these entitlements.
Important Points to Remember about the Working Parent Entitlement
- This is the funding that parents/carers apply for via HMRC Get free childcare if you're working: Check if you're eligible - GOV.UK
- If they are eligible, they receive an 11-digit code
- Parents/carers must reconfirm their codes every 3 months (or by the date set by HMRC) for the code to remain valid
- If parents/carers forget to reconfirm their codes, then they will no longer be eligible
- HMRC send email reminders to parents/carers about renewing their code
- You must also check that the child meets the age criteria for the funding
- Working Parent Entitlement Grace Periods: There is usually a grace period to allow parents/carers to retain funding for a short period if they become ineligible for the entitlement. If a child is in their grace period, then they can still claim funding with you as long as they were already claiming funding with you last term. The funding will stop once the grace period ends, so parents must reconfirm before the end of the grace period. A child can’t start a new setting in a grace period, so if you are taking on a new child and they are in their grace period, they won’t be able to claim funding.
- Remember – parents / carers MUST reconfirm their code by the deadline set for them by HMRC. If you have a new parent and they already have a code, then you must check the start date and end date of the code, as they may need to reconfirm the code again before the new term starts.
Please refer to Childcare Choices for more information about funding, you can view by clicking on this link www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
There is a useful Frequently Asked Questions section which can be shared with parents / carers, please click on this link below.
https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/15-and-30-hours-childcare-support/faqs
We hope you find this information useful and if you have any questions then please email the Early Entitlements team: early.entitlements@lewisham.gov,uk