New Childcare Choices parents' website goes live
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
A new website to inform parents about childcare support, including Tax-Free Childcare and the 30 hours, launches today.
The website - Childcare Choices - sets out all current and upcoming Government childcare offers and support available to parents, including the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and 30 hours, the 15 free hours, tax credits, Universal Credit and childcare vouchers.
It has been launched by the Department for Education and the Treasury.
Included on the website is a Childcare Calculator for parents to compare all offers and support available to them and check what works best for their family.
Parents will be able to use Childcare Choices to register for alerts for the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, which the DfE and Treasury have now confirmed will start from 28 April for parents of the youngest children,
They can also sign up for information about the 30 hours of free childcare for three- and four-year-olds, coming in from September, as well as sign up to e-mail alerts that will notify them when they can apply and provide details of existing Government childcare offers.
Chief secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said, ‘This Government is on the side of working families and our childcare support will cut thousands of pounds off bills for millions of households, as well as supporting parents to return to or remain in work.
‘The new Childcare Choices website provides busy families with options that suit their needs, so they can clearly see which childcare offer works best for them. For the first time, we have brought all the childcare options together to make the process easier and simpler for families and childcare providers.’
Education secretary Justine Greening said, ‘Affordable childcare and early years education are a vital part of how we can get our children on the right path, whilst also helping parents to be back at work, if that is what they want. Many parents are struggling to balance the cost of childcare against the benefits of being in work and this Government wants to help.
‘From today, parents can use the Childcare Choices website to find out what support is available for their family. Whether that’s our 30 hour free childcare offer, Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit, the website is a quick and easy way or parents to choose the offer that’s best for them and their children.’
