AD| The Childcare Offer for Wales: Help with childcare costs for most working parents of 3 or 4 year olds

Are you a working parent of a 3 or 4 year old?

If you answered yes to that question, are you aware that you could be getting government help with childcare costs?

Under the Childcare Offer for Wales, most working parents of 3 or 4 year olds could claim 30 hours of early education and childcare in Wales a week, for up to 48 weeks of the year. The aim of the Childcare Offer for Wales is to make life a bit easier for most working parents by offering help with childcare costs.

The Childcare Offer for Wales has already helped most working parents from all over Wales in many different ways. From returning to work, increasing their hours, taking training opportunities to develop their skills, changing jobs, starting a new business or by being able to work more flexibly.

As you can see the Childcare Offer for Wales has plenty of benefits and also aims to leave most working parents with a bit of extra money every month, to spend on the things that are important to their family.

How does the Childcare Offer for Wales work?

The 30 hours of early education and childcare in Wales is made up of a minimum of 10 hours early education (Foundation Phase Nursery) a week and up to a maximum of 20 hours of childcare a week. To find out the exact amount of childcare you can get please visit your local Family Information Service. They can let you know what the Offer means for you in your area as it depends on how many early education hours your local authority offers.

The Offer is available for 48 weeks of the year. This means that the Offer can help you with childcare cover for some of the school holidays. And during school holidays, when the schools are closed, you are able to have 30 hours of childcare per week. What’s more, hundreds of nurseries, child minders, Clych Meithrin, playgroups and crèches are on board with the Offer giving you the opportunity to choose the childcare provider that best meets your and your child’s needs.

Applications for the Childcare Offer for Wales are open right now across Wales. You can also find more information over on the Childcare Offer for Wales Facebook page.