Skip to main content
Somerset County Council logo
Menu
Close menu
  • Home
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Births, ceremonies and deaths
    • Births

      Includes registering a birth and ordering certificates

    • Marriages and ceremonies

      Includes ordering certificates and approved premises

    • Deaths

      Includes ordering certificates and tell us once service

  • Social care and health
    • Fostering and adoption

      Includes applying to adopt, becoming a foster carer and private fostering information

    • Carers

      Includes help, advice and support for carers

    • Adult social care

      Includes information for people who are 18 or over who have care and support needs

    • Help to live at home

      Includes equipment, care and support

    • Children’s social care

      Includes help for families and young people

    • Health and wellbeing

      Includes sexual health, preventing substance misuse and healthy workplaces

    • Public health

      Includes health checks, campaigns and mental health support

    • Safeguarding

      Includes protecting adults and children at risk

    • Housing options

      Includes care homes and sheltered housing

    • Specialist Public Health Nursing

      Includes information about health visitors, school nurses and public health nursing

  • Education and families
    • Adult learning

      Includes information about training courses across Somerset

    • Route1 advocacy

      Providing advice and support to children and young people

    • Choosing a school

      Includes information about catchment areas and admissions policies

    • School applications

      Includes information about applying to start school and moving to a different school

    • School life

      Includes term and holiday dates, exclusions and school activities

    • Childcare

      Includes entitlements, the support available and the latest childcare news

    • Fostering and adoption

      Includes applying to adopt, becoming a foster carer and private fostering information

    • Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

      Includes our Local Offer and the services available

    • School transport

      Includes information about different types of school transport and how to apply

    • Children

      Includes employing children, child protection and corporate parenting

  • Roads and transport
    • Problems on the road

      Includes how to report potholes, flooding and traffic lights

    • Signs and streetlights

      Includes speed limits, road signs and how to report faulty lights

    • Parking

      Includes paying or challenging a fine, blue badges and permits

    • Public and community transport

      Includes bus passes and park and ride information

    • School transport

      Includes information about different types of school transport and how to apply

    • Road projects

      We deliver Major Highway Schemes which have been identified through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) process

    • Rights of way

      Includes footpaths, bridleways and open access lands

    • Road works and road closures

      Includes information about plans for temporary and new works and closures

    • Road safety

      Includes how we work to make our roads safer

  • Libraries, community and leisure
    • Planning for Brexit

      What we are doing to plan for the UK leaving the European Union

    • Libraries

      Includes library membership, services and events

    • Volunteering

      Includes how to get involved in community activities and projects

    • Heritage

      Includes museums, records and archaeology

    • Safer communities

      Includes making your home safer and community safer

    • Community initiatives

      Includes community initiatives and community right to challenge

  • Waste, planning and land
    • Planning

      Includes applying for planning permission and reporting unauthorised developments

    • Waste

      Includes waste collections and recycling

    • Property

      Includes information about county farms and our land and building assets

    • Flooding and drainage

      Includes how we support flood prevention and planning

    • Rights of way

      Includes footpaths, bridleways and open access lands

    • Countryside

      Includes Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, walking and cycling

    • Emergencies

      Includes information about planning for emergencies

  • Business and economy
    • Do business with the Council

      Includes current business and contact opportunities

    • Supporting businesses

      Includes registering as a childminder and support and advice for businesses

    • Procurement

      Includes how we procure goods, services and works

    • Licences

      Includes approved premises licenses and permission for decorations on the road

  • Our information
    • Freedom of information

      Includes how to ask us questions about what we do

    • How we use your information

      Includes the information we hold about you and how we protect it

    • Accessing our information

      Includes Data Protection and the re-use of our information

    • Have your say

      Includes petitions and ongoing consultations

  • How the council works
    • Our plans

      Includes the County Plan and the Business Plan

    • Democracy

      Includes Councillors, meetings and elections

    • Our finances

      Includes our budgeting and spending information

    • Partnerships and Trusts

      Includes how we work with other organisations

    • Our performance

      Includes how we set and meet our goals and your feedback

    • Local Government Reorganisation in Somerset

      The future of Local Government in Somerset

  • Jobs and Careers
  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy notices and cookies
Home Education and families Paying for childcare Funding for 2 year olds
BETA

We're changing these pages to make them easier to read, help us improve our content.

Funding for 2 year olds

Families with 2 year old children who meet the criteria can apply for funding for 2 year olds.

  • Funding for 2 year olds

  • Downloads

  • Contact

Funding for 2 year olds

Due to the current situation with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), applications sent in via the post or dropped into County Hall will take much longer to process as we have very limited access to our office.  We would recommend all applications are now sent electronically by completing the online application form.  Applications sent in electronically will be processed as quickly as possible, however, if applicants don’t agree for the outcome to be e-mailed, it will take longer for letters to be sent notifying applicants of the outcome.  If you have sent your application electronically, have not heard after 10 working days and need to know the outcome, please ring on 01823 355765 to find out the status of your application.

Families with 2 year old children who meet the criteria below can apply for funding for 2 year olds. Somerset County Council will pay for a place for up to 570 hours over the year at a registered childcare provider. A maximum of 15 hours per week is available. Children become eligible in the funding period after their second birthday.

We will fund part-time early years entitlement places for three and four year olds starting from the funding period after the child’s third birthday. This is called the universal entitlement and you can access it through your childcare provider. Find out more about Early years entitlement.

This information is for people who live in Somerset.

How to apply
There is an online form which can be completed using the ‘Apply now’ button below. You can print out and post a copy of the form by clicking on the link in Downloads.

The form has 4 to 5 pages and should take 4 minutes to complete

Apply now

The funding periods are:
Spring 1 January to 31 March
Summer 1 April to 31 August
Autumn 1 September to 31 December

You can see more details about the entitlement on our Early Years Entitlement page.

Please see our Finding childcare page for more about what support is available.

Entitlement
Families who receive any of the following are entitled to funding for 2 year olds:

  • Income Support (IS)
  • Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related) – not Contribution related
  • Income-based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA) – not Contribution based
  • Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Child Tax Credit with an annual taxable income (as assessed by HMRC) of less than £16,190
  • Working Tax Credit 4-week run on – the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit – if you and your partner have a combined income from work of less than £15,400 a year after tax
  • Children who are 2 and attract Disability Living Allowance
  • Children who are 2 and have an Education, Health and Care Plan
  • Children who are 2 and are looked after by the Local Authority
  • Children who are 2 and have been adopted, or who have left care through special guardianship or child arrangement orders

Please note: Only the benefits listed above qualify for funding for 2 year olds

Evidence will only need to be sent without prior request if an application is made and the child qualifies by receiving Disability Living Allowance. In this case, a copy of the latest award letter from the Department for Work and Pensions will need to be submitted before the application can be processed. We recommend attaching the evidence to the form at the time of application. If you are submitting the application online, you can send a copy to freeschoolmeals@somerset.gov.uk or post a copy to Entitlements Team, County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY.

Children will also be eligible for funding for 2 year olds if their legal guardian meets one of the following criteria:

  • they are a Zambrano Carer with a household income, after tax, of £15,400 or less per year
  • they have the right to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and are subject to no recourse to public funds with a household income, after tax, of £15,400 or less per year
  • they are in receipt of support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 and are also subject to no recourse to public funds with a household income, after tax, of £15,400 or less per year
  • they are supported under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

If you meet this criteria, please complete the ‘Funding for 2 year old application form – additional criteria’ in the downloads section and send it in with the appropriate evidence.

All applications will be processed within 5 to 10 working days. You will be notified of the outcome in writing and claims will not be backdated. If you are successful, you will be sent a list of approved providers and the date your child is eligible from.

You will need to contact a provider from the list and check they have an available place for your child. The provider will ask to see the letter and a copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport.

Important: Only providers on the list that we send you are approved for funding for 2 year olds. If you wish to access a provider that is not on the list, please phone the Entitlements Team on 01823 357039 to see if your chosen provider can be funded. If it cannot be funded (only settings rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted can take children that have been awarded funding for 2 year olds) or you access a provider that is not on the list without contacting us, you will have to pay. If you access more than the entitlement or any additional services at an approved provider, for example food, the provider will ask you to pay for these services.

If you have been offered funding for 2 year olds, this will continue, even if your circumstances change, until your child can claim the Early Years Entitlement. You can get more information on our Early Years Entitlement page or by emailing eyfunding@somerset.gov.uk.

Downloads

Application form for a funded Early Years place for 2 year olds

Funding for 2 year old application form – additional criteria

Feedback - was this information helpful?

    We will use your feedback to improve this website. Please tell us if we have got something wrong, if there is something missing or if something isn't working.

    You can tell us about this on the complaints, comments and compliments page.



    scc logo

    Built by the SCC Digital Service

    • v1.11
    • Contact us
    • Accessibility
    • Privacy notices and cookies

    We use cookies to improve your browsing experience on our website and to analyse our traffic. By clicking accept, you consent to this. If you do not click accept you can continue to use our website without cookies. If you wish to remove your consent at any time, please clear your local storage.