Free childcare offer extended
Working parents are set for a boost as Rhondda Cynon Taf Council confirms it will extend its free childcare and early years education to ALL eligible three and four year olds in the county borough by the end of 2018.
Before then, the scheme has been expanded to the following electoral wards from the beginning of the summer term:
- Graig
- Rhydyfelin Central
- Taffs Well
- Trallwng
- Treforest
- Hawthorn
- Llanharry
- Llanharan
- Brynna
- Talbot Green
Visit the Childcare Information page to see the full list of eligible areas.
Cllr Christina Leyshon, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "We are pleased to be delivering on another of our commitments with the full roll out of the childcare scheme from September 2018.
"Since its launch, the scheme has been providing vital support for working parents with children aged three and four. The scheme can save working parents up to £3,847 a year, which is a significant saving for them.
"The continued expansion of the scheme is being made in line with Welsh Government guidance and we have now added several new wards to those that are eligible, with a view to a 100 per cent roll out by the end of this year.
"We have had feedback that parents think there must be a "catch", that the initiative is "too good to be true" or that they won't qualify.
"The online checker takes minutes to complete and is really simple. It will tell you if you are eligible – you have nothing to lose by finding out more!
"The scheme provides vital support for working parents of three and four year olds, with hundreds already taking advantage of free childcare and early years education, including provision during school holidays.
"We have been working with childcare providers across the county borough to ensure there is capacity for those who need it.”
Rhondda Cynon Taf is one of seven Welsh local authorities to successfully bid to become an early implementer for the Welsh Government initiative, which offers working parents 30 hours of free combined childcare and early years education for 48 weeks of the year (including 9 weeks of school holidays). More local authorities are coming on board from September 2018.
You can see all of the wards included and check if you can take advantage of the childcare offer by completing the easy online eligibility checker, which takes just a few seconds to complete, on the childcare offer page
