What you need to apply

A SCHEME to give parents free childcare is being extended across the whole of Cardiff.

The Welsh Government scheme gives eligible working parents of three and fouryear-old children in the city 30 hours of free early years education and childcare for up to 48 weeks of the year.

Some areas of Cardiff have already been included in a pilot, but it will now be extended to the whole city in January.

Eligible parents will be able to access the offer from the beginning of the term following their child’s third birthday until the September following their fourth birthday, when they begin full-time education. It could save families £4,725 a year. However, it will not be available at all nurseries, only those willing to accept the nationally-agreed level of funding of £4.50 per child per hour.

It has already been available in Adamsdown, Butetown, Caerau, Cathays, Ely, Grangetown, Llanrumney, Plasnewydd, Riverside and Splott.

Parents for the rest of the city will be able to make applications from this Saturday. If accepted, parents need to re-confirm they remain eligible for the offer on a termly basis. Most families will only need to respond to an email but some will need to resubmit evidence.

The 30 hours will include 12.5 hours of foundation phase early education and the remainder will be made up of childcare. The offer is for up to 48 weeks of the year. Term time will be treated as 39 weeks, meaning the other nine weeks will be treated as non-term time or “holiday provision”.

During these nine weeks’ holiday provision, eligible children will receive 30 hours of childcare only. The scheme is being gradually rolled out across Wales and it will be available across the country by 2020.

The Welsh Government says research YOU need to complete a registration form and will need the following documents with you when you start, as the form cannot be saved:

■ scan/photograph of child’s birth certificate;

■ scans/photographs of parent’s/ parents’ last three months’ wage slips;

■ scan/photograph of a proof of residency (eg most recent council tax statement, bank statement, utility bill, insurance documents);

■ agreed childcare provider’s hours and days;

■ employer’s contact details, including address, telephone number and email; and/or

■ scan/photograph of any Department for Work and Pensions letter or current employer’s letter that would qualify parents for the childcare offer if not currently in work.

You can apply via Cardiff Council’s website at www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/ resident/Schools-and-learning/ Early-years-and-child-care/ Government-funded-Childcare/ Pages/default.aspx

by Arad Research, in partnership with NatCen Social Research, has already shown it is helping families as more than 3,300 children have benefited.

The research on the offer’s first year of operation shows 80% of the lowest-earning parents in each household accessing the offer earn less than the average salary in Wales.

Some 88% of surveyed parents reported having more disposable income as a result of accessing the offer, and 67% reported the offer gave them more opportunities to increase their future earnings.