15 hours early education entitlement for eligible 2 year olds

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2 Year Targeted Funding

This scheme in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is called Busy 2s.  To see eligibility criteria and to make an online application, families should visit this link: RBKC Free Early Education for 2 year olds

Applications can be submitted once a child turns 20 months old.  They are held and processed in the term in which the child turns 2 years old. If eligible, funding starts in the term after the child’s 2nd birthday.

Online benefit checks are done to establish eligibility.  However, in some cases families are required to send in proof of eligibility, for example if the child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or has been adopted.

If eligible, a Busy 2s ticket is posted out addressed to the child with a letter containing a list of participating providers.  Once a parent has decided on a provider, they handover the Busy 2’s ticket to the provider and must complete a parental declaration form in order to take up a funded childcare placement.  They are also required to show the provider proof of the child’s date of birth, such as a birth certificate or passport.  The Busy 2’s ticket will tell you what term the child is eligible to start from.  


For further information, please contact us.


Families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)


Please have a look at the following document: No recourse to public funds.

When can my child access their free hours?

Your child’s birthday When they can get their hours from Recommended time to apply
1 September to 31 December Term starting on or after 1 January 15 October to 30 November
1 January to 31 March Term starting on or after 1 April 15 January to 28 February
1 April to 31 August Term starting on or after 1 September 15 June to 31 July

Termly breakdown

2 year funding is for 15 hours per week and is paid for 38 weeks in the year, see chart below, for termly breakdown:

Term

Period

Maximum number of weeks per term

Maximum number of hours per week

Autumn Term

September – December

14

15

Spring Term

January – March

11

15

Summer Term

April – July

13

15

 

Total:

38

 

 

* A provider can opt to offer a stretched offer to a family, offering less hours in a week with more weeks in the year.  A typical example of a stretched offer is 11 funded hours per week for more weeks in the year.

Change of circumstances

If the parent circumstances change, for example they start working this does not affect the 2 year funded placement.  Once a child starts a 2 year funded placement, they can continue to access it.

Out of Borough Applications

A non-RBKC family can apply to access a funded placement from a participating RBKC provider, but due to high demand and limited places families residing in RBKC may take priority. Out of borough families, will need to follow the same procedure and go to the RBKC website and make an online application. When processed if eligible, they will also get issued with a ticket to access a funded placement.  We are not able to simply accept evidence of eligibility from their home LA, as our system needs to generate an eligibility code

Rates

Eligible 2-year-olds are eligible for up to 15 hours of free early education per week for 38 weeks.

This is paid directly to settings. The current rates can be accessed on the following page: Kensington and Chelsea EY funding rates.

     

Page last reviewed: 08/03/2024

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