Childcare Offer for Wales to re-open

The Childcare Offer for Wales which provides working parents with 30 hours of Government-funded early education and childcare for three and four-year-olds is re-opening following the coronavirus pandemic.

The Offer was suspended in April to allow resources to be repurposed to support the childcare needs of critical workers and vulnerable children through the Coronavirus Childcare Assistance Scheme (C-CAS).

As Wales continues to ease more lockdown restrictions and with schools set to return from September, the Offer will re-open for applications to enable families to start accessing the funded childcare.

Applications will re-open during August and September.

Parents who would have been eligible for the Offer in the summer term (children who turned three between January 1 and March 31, 2020), but who missed out on a full term because they had not started taking up the Offer before the pandemic, will be able to apply from Monday, August 10 for the start of the autumn term.

Parents whose child becomes eligible for the Offer from the autumn term (children who turn/turned three between April 1 and August 31, 2020), will be able to apply from Monday, September 21 and can take up a funded place once the authority has processed their application.

Due to the high volume of applications expected, applications will take up to 28 days to process.

Executive Board Member for Education and Children’s Services Cllr Glynog Davies said: “I am pleased that the Childcare Offer is being re-opened to help working parents in Carmarthenshire.

“Now that we are starting to come out of lockdown and parents are returning to work, it is important that this childcare support is provided. It will also be a big help to childcare settings following this very difficult few months.”

Details on how to apply will be available on the Carmarthenshire Family Information Service website from August 10.

CARMARTHENSHIRE FAMILY INFORMATION SERVICE