Have been googling answers for this scenario but to no avail. So…
I’m currently on mat leave with DC2. Will be taking the full 52 weeks. I have a 2 year old who turns 3 in October and a baby who turns 1 next January.
Have secured them both a nursery place for January 2025 when I will be returning to work for 30 hours a week (3 x 10 hour days).
My query relates to my eldest child. I understand that I have to apply for a code for his 30 hours which he will be eligible for from Jan 2025. Govt help page says to apply for this from 15th October.
Nursery suggested that I start sending him in September for a few hours a week using the funding for 2 year olds, so that he is well settled in before he starts the long days in January.
-Can I claim the funded hours whilst on mat leave as technically I’m not working? By October I won’t even be being paid statutory so it will be unpaid maternity leave.
-If I apply for (and get) the 2 year old funding for September, how does this work with then applying in October for the 30 hours for Jan? I thought you could only apply for it every 3 months when you have to reconfirm your eligibility? If I applied in June to get the 2 yr old funding in time for Sept, then I’d have to reconfirm eligibility in Sept and then wouldn’t be able to apply for the 30 hours code until December, which would be cutting it fine to provide the code to the nursery. Or have I misunderstood how it works- does the code for 30 hours just automatically come through once they turn 3 if you are already claiming the 2 year old funding?
Hope this makes sense, I’ve tried to explain it as succinctly as possible. Thanks.