Will my DD still be eligible for 30 free hours when I go on maternity leave in January?

[HereComesBaby2]

I'm due baby number 2 in January and I can't find any information on whether or not my 3 year old will still be eligible for the 30 free hours when I go on maternity leave or whether she will have to drop down to the standard 15 hours? Does anyone have experience with this?

She will definitely be entitled to the 30
Hours. You can call the gov site, but when you reconfirm it will mention being on maternity. So yes, she will get it.

Yes currently on maternity and when I recently confirmed DD1’s entitlement I ticked a box that said something like ‘employed for more than x hours a week (including if on mat leave/pat leave/adoption leave from this job)’

Yes, maternity leave still counts as employed.

Thank you all for confirming, I was worried about disturbing her routine! Do I have to let her nursery know that I'll be on maternity or will they not care? 😂

It won’t make a difference to nursery admin-wise but the arrival of a new sibling and mummy staying home with the baby while DD goes to nursery/other changes to her usual routines is useful for them to know as it is very normal for children’s behaviour to change when there is a big change at home. So I would talk to them about that.

Her nursery won't care that you're on maternity leave, but it's very useful for them to know as your eldest may experience regressions or behavioural changes. Our nursery also helped a lot by talking to DS about his new sibling, both before and after he arrived.

Depending on how friendly you are with the staff, they may also be excited to meet the new baby when you're feeling ready!

Thanks everyone for your advice, I've messaged the nursery just to keep them in the loop really - they didn't know whether my maternity leave would impact DDs eligibility or not but you all have given me confidence that it should be okay come January 🙏

Yes absolutely fine. I'm on mat leave right now and my DD1 is at nursery with the 30 free hours. It tells you in the eligibility section when you reconfirm.