The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that applications for the second wave of the implementation of reforms, which increases the amount of paid childcare families may claim, will open on May 12.
Working parents who fulfill the eligibility requirements and have children as young as nine months old can begin receiving 15 hours of paid childcare per week in September. However, after months of warnings that providers are finding it difficult to accommodate the growing demand, parents are urged to make advance plans. According to Labour, the chancellor’s “botched childcare pledge without a plan could see families miss out on the places they’re entitled to,” and this was acknowledged in the announcement.
