2 year old funding

There are two schemes for 2 year old funding - additional support scheme (previously disadvantaged funding) and the working families scheme. You must ensure children are approved by one of these schemes (with evidence checked) before offering a funded place.

Additional support scheme (benefits-related and child specific criteria)

Families apply to the Family Information Service in order to access this funding.

Children can access up to 15 hours per week under this scheme.

In order to offer 2 year old funded places to children approved via this scheme childcare providers must ensure they meet the requirements which are:

You must be registered and approved by Solihull MBC to offer Early Education Funded places.
You must have a current Ofsted grade of 'Good' or 'Outstanding'. If you have not had your first inspection then you can offer 2 year old funded places in the meantime.

To claim 2 year old funding for a child you must first ensure that the child has been approved by Solihull MBC. The parent should be able to show you their approval letter or you can contact the Family Information Service to check on 0800 389 8667. You can send the Family Information Service a list of your 2 year old funded children to check approval prior to the term starting if you are unsure.

Eligiblity

2 year olds will be eligible for a free childcare place of up to 15 hours per week (up to a maximum number of hours per term) if the family receive at least one of the following benefits:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act
the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit with a gross annual income of no more than £16,190
Working Tax Credit 4-week run on
Universal Credit with net earnings below £15,400

What if the family don’t receive one of the above benefits?

If they care for a 2 year old child who meets any of the criteria below they will also be eligible for a funded childcare place if:

child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
child has a current Statement of Special Educational Need or an Education, Health and Care Plan
child is Looked After by the Local Authority
child has left Local Authority Care through Special Guardianship Order, Adoption or Child Arrangement Order.

To make an application based upon these additional criteria please call the Family Information Service on 0800 389 8667.

No Recourse to Public Funds

A child may also be eligible for 2 year old funding if the family meet the following criteria;

have an immigration status of No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), live in England and have an annual net earned income of less than:
£26,500 for families outside of London with one child
£30,600 for families outside of London with two or more children
have no more than £16,000 in savings or investments

To make an application based upon the No Recourse to Public Funds criteria families must complete the self-declaration form and email it to 2yearoldfunding@solihull.gov.uk or if they have any further queries they can call the Family Information Service directly on 0800 389 8667.

How to apply

Online application - parents will receive email notification within 5 working days confirming if they are eligible or not
Paper application form which can be requested by contacting us on 0800 389 8667 or 2yearoldfunding@solihull.gov.uk
If a child receives Disability Living Allowance (DLA), has an EHC Plan, Statement of SEN, is Looked After or has left Local Authority Care through Special Guardianship Order, Adoption or Child Arrangement Order, they will need to send in specific evidence so they will need to call us on 0800 389 8667 to apply.

All parents will receive their official Solihull Council approval letter with a booking form by email. If a parent has lost their letter, the childcare setting can phone us on 0800 389 8667 to confirm eligibility. We can only pay for children approved by Solihull so you must ensure the child has been approved before offering a place.

Please see our factsheet (PDF) for information on eligibility and how parents apply for 2 year old funding.

Where a parent has evidence of approval for 2 year old funding under the National Criteria from another Local Authority, the parent must apply to Solihull Family Information Service via www.solihull.gov.uk/2yearoldfunding. We will ask the parent for evidence of approval before their child starts their funded place.

If parents need any support or advice about 2 year old funding then they can contact the Family Information Service on 0800 389 8667 or 2yearoldfunding@solihull.gov.uk. Without an approved application from the parent we cannot pay you for 2 year old funding so please ensure you see evidence of approval from Solihull Family Information Service before 2 year old funding starts.

When is my child able to start?

The earliest we can check eligibility for 2 year old funding is during the term that your child turns 2. If the child is approved for a place they can start the following term. Please see dates below:

A child who is 2 years old between:	Can access their place from the following:
1 April and 31 August	Autumn term (from September)
1 September and 31 December	Spring term (from January)
1 January and 31 March	Summer term (from April)

Working Families

From September 2025, 30 hour per week of funded childcare will be available for 2 year olds where their family meet criteria relating to being in employment. The working families scheme is managed by the National Childcare Service.

In order to offer 2 year old funded places to children approved via this scheme childcare providers must ensure they meet the requirements which are:

You must be registered and approved by Solihull MBC to offer Early Education Funded places.
You must have a current Ofsted grade of 'Requires Improvement', 'Good' or 'Outstanding'. If you have not had your first inspection then you can offer 2 year old funded places in the meantime.

Eligibility

If a family work they may be able to get up to 30 hours of funded childcare a week from September 2025. If a family are a couple then both need to be working.

To get 2 year old funding through this scheme then the following needs to apply:

the parent (both parents if living together) earn at least £8,670 a year and less than £100,000 a year adjusted net income, which is the income after some tax reliefs and deductions

Early education funding for children in foster care

A child in foster care is entitled to free early education funding if the child is within the eligible date of birth range for the term and meets the criteria set out below:

That accessing the funded hours is consistent with the child’s care plan, placing the child at the centre of the process and decision making, and
That, in single foster parent families, the foster parent holds additional paid employment outside of their role as a foster carer.
And in two foster parent families, both are employed.

Foster carer applications should be made by the Foster Carer(s) to the Family Information Service.

For more information including how to apply please visit - Early education funding for children in foster care

How to apply

Parents can apply to the National Childcare Service here. Parents can call HMRC on 0300 123 4097 if they need support submitting your application.

Parents will receive an 11 digit code if they are successful with their application and this must be given to you prior to offering a funded place. This code must be checked on the eligibility checker on the Provider Portal before you can confirm a funded place.

Key Dates

Please note: When a parent is applying to HMRC for a 2 year old eligibility code, they will need to make sure their application is completed in time in order to get their eligibility code before the following government cut off dates. If a parent applies after these dates they will have to wait until the following term to take up the additional funded hours:

31 August - funding starting in the Autumn term (from September term)
31 December - funding starting in the Spring term (from January term)
31 March - funding starting in the Summer term (from April term)

Please be aware it can take up to 15 days from the date of application for HMRC to issue a an eligibility hour code. If the parent already has an eligibility code then please remember to remind them to reconfirm their details when prompted by HMRC in order to continue to receive funding.

If a parent is issued with a temporary eligibility code by HMRC these are only valid for one term so you must ensure you ask the parent to apply for a new code from HMRC for the following term.

Additional Information

When is my child able to start?

A child who is 2 years old between:	Can access their place from the following:
1 April and 31 August	Autumn term (from September)
1 September and 31 December	Spring term (from January)
1 January and 31 March	Summer term (from April)

What if children are eligible for both 2 year old funding schemes?

If families are eligible for both 2 year old funding schemes they should complete applications for both schemes and pass evidence (Solihull Council approval letter and HMRC working family code) to their chosen childcare providers.

Children will still be able to claim 30 hours childcare, but they will be split as 15 hours under each scheme so please complete your headcount claim under both schemes.

2 year old funding

Additional support scheme (benefits-related and child specific criteria)

What if the family don’t receive one of the above benefits?

No Recourse to Public Funds

Working Families

Additional Information

Getting help

Open government

Open source