The Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022

Period of eligibility for childcare

27.—(1) A child is eligible for childcare under section 1 of the Act for the period—

(a) beginning with whichever of 1st January, 1st April or 1st September is the first date on or after the day on which a declaration in respect of the child has effect, and

(b) ending before the day on which the child ceases to be a qualifying child of working parents(1).

(2) A year begins with the date calculated in accordance with paragraph (1) for the purposes of determining in relation to the child whether the duty in section 1(1) of the Act has been discharged(2).

(1)

A young child ceases to be qualifying child of working parents if the child is looked after by a local authority (see regulation 13), no declaration in respect of the child has effect (see regulation 25) or the child ceases to satisfy the requirements of section 1(2)(a) or (b) of the Childcare Act 2016 (which define a qualifying child of working parents as a young child who is under compulsory school age and in England, respectively).

(2)

Section 1(7) of the Childcare Act 2016 requires the Secretary of State to set out in regulations when a year begins for the purposes of determining in relation to a child whether the duty in section 1(1) of that Act has been discharged.