Parents of three and four year olds are being reminded the FREE 30 hour childcare offer is being rolled out to the whole of Rhondda Cynon Taf in September.

By the time children return to school in the new term, eligible children in every ward in the county borough will be able to take advantage of the offer – the most generous in Wales – offering 30 hours of childcare a week for working parents.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council was chosen as one of the pilot areas to trial the childcare offer on behalf of the Welsh Government last year.

Children are eligible from the term following their third birthday until the term following their fourth birthday providing:

Both parents (or one if in single parent family) are working or self employed.
Earn a minimum weekly equivalent of 16 hours paid at the National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage (between £111 and £115). There is no maximum earnings cap.

You can find the full list of who is eligible – and check if you can qualify – at www.rctcbc.gov.uk/childcareoffer

Cllr Christina Leyshon, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:

“Rhondda Cynon Taf Council worked hard to secure its position as a pilot area for the Welsh Government childcare offer as we knew the benefit it could bring to working parents in the county borough.

“At present, the offer is only available in certain wards and we are pleased to be able to now offer it to every eligible child in the county borough, a huge boost for working parents.

“The childcare offer pages at www.rctcbc.gov.uk are full of information and contain an easy, online eligibility checker which can tell you in seconds if you meet the criteria for the offer. It’s worth checking it out so you can see what you can access.

“More and more childcare providers are joining up to deliver the provision for parents, including many that offer transport from school to the childcare setting. Details of these can also be found on the web pages.”