Welsh Government 30-hour Education/Childcare Offer
What is the Childcare Offer for Wales?
The Childcare Offer for Wales provides eligible parents of three to four year olds with up to 30 hours per week of combined nursery education and additional funded childcare for up to 48 weeks per year. The Offer will build on children’s existing nursery education entitlement during term time and provide up to 30 hours of funded childcare for nine weeks of the school holidays (school holiday weeks are pro-rata, 3 weeks per term, depending on which term your eligibility is confirmed).
How many hours of childcare am I eligible for?
The offer is a maximum of 30 hours of combined nursery education and additional funded childcare. In Merthyr Tydfil all eligible parents will be offered a minimum of 12.5 hours of Early Years Education and 17.5 hours of Childcare. This also applies to those who wish to utilise the offer within another Local Authority.
Parents are not required to access their nursery education entitlement in order to access the childcare element of the Offer. However their entitlement will include these hours whether they access them or not.
All Merthyr Tydfil resident children are eligible for a Pre-Nursery / Nursery place the term following their third birthday, this will vary from a part time to full time place depending on when they were born.
Children eligible for a Nursery Place in September (Autumn term) will receive a full time place and children eligible to start in January (Spring term) and April (Summer Term) will receive a part time place.
Children eligible for a full time Nursery place cannot access the Childcare Offer funded childcare during term time. They can still access holiday funded childcare until the end of the summer holidays following their fourth birthday. This policy applies even if parents do not wish to access nursery education or if the child attends a school in a different Local Authority.
The education element of this offer is subject to normal Merthyr Tydfil School Admissions policy. Parents must apply for a nursery education place by the dates detailed on the Merthyr Tydfil School Admissions webpage. This is a separate application to the one made for the funded childcare element of the Childcare Offer.
If a school offers a staggered start to the term when your child first starts, it is not possible to claim Childcare Offer funded childcare hours for when your child is not in school.
Further details on how to apply for a nursery education place can be found at School admissions | Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council