FCC Application Form

Welsh Government Funded Childcare Offer
Entitlement Application Form

Swansea Council is the data controller for the personal information you provide on this form. Your information will be used to provide you with the service that you have requested and will not be used for any other purpose. We will not share your data with any third parties without your explicit consent unless we are required or permitted to do so by law.

Data protection law describes the legal basis for our processing your data as necessary for the performance of a contract. For further information about how Swansea Council uses your personal data, including your rights as a data subject, please see our corporate privacy notice on our website.

We share some data with Welsh Government – you can read how they use your data here.

Please ensure you have the following information to help you complete the application form:

Your child/s birth certificate number
National Insurance numbers for all parents/Guardians
Copies of your last 3 months wages slips for all parent/Guardians
Evidence of your enrolment on an under graduate or post graduate course at a Higher Education Institution (or one which is delivered via distance learning), that is at least one semester in length; or evidence of your enrolment on a course at a Further Education Institution, that is at least one term in length.
Employment contact details, including name of employer, address, telephone number and email
If self-employed evidence that you have registered with HMRC and or evidence of your earnings

Please be aware that the information you provide when completing this form will be checked against other data held by the Local Authority in order to verify eligibility.

Eligibility Questions (please select from below) (please select from below)

Working parent/s

To be eligible, the parent must meet the minimum earnings criteria over a 3 month period. By minimum earnings criteria we mean that they must earn, on average, the equivalent of at least 16 hours per week at the relevant minimum wage applicable to them. By minimum wage we mean either the National Minimum Wage (NMW), National Living Wage (NLW) or Apprenticeship Minimum Wage (AMW) at the rate that is relevant to their age (hereinafter “the relevant minimum wage).
Employed parents should evidence that they earn the minimum amount required through their wages over a three month period. Where a parent is newly employed or has recently changed employers and therefore cannot evidence earnings over a 3 month period, a letter from the employer confirming their employment, start date and earnings will suffice.
A self-employed parent should evidence that they earn the minimum amount required through their Self-Assessment return or evidence of likely income over the forthcoming tax year. Where a parent is newly self-employed they would be exempt from the earnings criteria for the first 12 months after the business was established, however will be required to provide proof of their business’s establishment. Copy of letter from HMRC confirming UTR.
Providing the parent is resident in Wales, income earned from a business registered outside the UK will count towards the minimum earnings criteria.
Do you match any of the criteria above:

Education and training

Parents in education or training should evidence their eligibility by providing evidence of formal enrolment on a relevant HE or FE course. Where a parent has applied and been offered a place on relevant HE or FE course, but has not yet been able to enrol, they should provide evidence of a formal offer of a course place.
A parent in education or training who meets the eligibility criteria would be able to access the Offer from the point at which their course commences.
Do you match any of the criteria above:

Parents and Carers

Kinship and special guardians:
Kinship carers are family and friends who have taken responsibility for a child or step child who is not their own, because the child has no parents or has parents who are unable to care for the child and it is likely that the child would otherwise be looked after by a local authority because of concerns in relation to the child’s welfare.
Kinship carers and carers who hold a special guardian order are able to access the Offer providing:
- they meet all of the parental eligibility criteria;
- they care for a child who is the correct age to receive the Offer; and,
- the child lives with them.
Partners of kinship carers, whether or not both adults are kinship carers, need to also meet the parental eligibility criteria.
The special guardianship allowance is not classed as taxable income and therefore does not count as income and should not be taken in to account when assessing whether they meet the minimum income criteria.
Foster carers and adoptive parents:
If a foster parent meets the parental eligibility criteria, they can access the Offer for any of their children. This includes their foster child/children, providing the childcare is in line with their foster child’s Care Plan.
Foster carers are able to use their fostering allowance as proof of earnings to meet the minimum income criteria for the Offer.
If a parent on adoption leave meets the parental eligibility criteria, they can access the Offer for any of their eligible children. This includes the child who is the subject of the adoption, providing the childcare is in line with the child’s Adoption Support Plan. Welsh Early Permanence carers may fall into the fostering bracket above during the period they are fostering the child prior to a Placement Order being granted and the change in status of the child’s placement to that of adoption.
Parents who have ‘no recourse to public fund’:
Having ‘no recourse to public funds’ does not exclude parents from accessing the Offer. Parents who are “subject to immigration control” as defined by Section 115(9) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are able to access the Offer provided they meet all other eligibility criteria.
Parents in the armed forces:
Parents who are members of the armed forces living in Wales are able to access the Offer provided they meet the parental eligibility criteria.
Two parent households where one parent is working or in education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) and one parent is in receipt of payments from the Armed Forces made to seriously injured veterans (for instance, Guaranteed Income Payment), are eligible for the Offer. However, two parent households where one parent is in receipt of an exception benefit and the other parent receives a disability payment from the Armed Forces, are not eligible.
For parents serving overseas who would normally be based in Wales, the MOD will mirror the provision given under the English Childcare Offer.
Homeless households:
Parents who are homeless but who meet the parental eligibility criteria are eligible for the Offer. Where a parent has a temporary living arrangement (such as staying with friends) and does not have a Council Tax bill to use as proof of residency, alternative documentation can be used. This could include the address used to register the child for an education place or a letter from their housing officer/housing association provider confirming they are on a waiting list for accommodation within the area.
Do you match any of the criteria above:

Exceptions for two parent households having to meet the earnings criteria or having to be in education and training

The following exceptions apply for two parent households having to meet the earnings criteria or having to be in education and training:
one parent is employed or in education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) and one parent has substantial caring responsibilities. This is based on specific benefits received for caring; or
both parents are employed (and meet the parental eligibility criteria) but one or both parents are temporarily away from the workplace on statutory maternity, paternity or adoption leave or unpaid parental leave; or
both parents are in education or training (and meet the parental eligibility criteria) but one or both parents have formally suspended their studies for reasons relating to maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave or parental leave; or
one parent is employed and one parent is in education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) but the working parent is temporarily away from the workplace on statutory maternity, paternity or adoption leave or unpaid parental leave and/or the parent in education or training has formally suspended their studies for reasons relating to maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave or parental leave; or
both parents are employed (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) but one or both parents are temporarily away from the workplace on statutory sick pay;
both parents are in education or training (and meet the parental eligibility criteria) but one or both parents have formally suspended their studies due to long term sickness;
one parent is employed and one parent is in education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) but the working parent is temporarily away from the workplace on statutory sick pay and/or the parent in education or training has formally suspended their studies due to long term sickness; or
one parent is employed or in education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) and one parent is disabled or incapacitated. This is based on the parent being in receipt of, or having an underlying entitlement to, one of the following qualifying benefits: one parent is employed or in education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) and one parent is disabled or incapacitated. This is based on the parent being in receipt of, or having an underlying entitlement to, one of the following qualifying benefits:
Two parent households where one parent is working or is in education or training and the other has taken early retirement on the grounds of ill health, are eligible if the affected parent is unable to work because of the health issue that forced their retirement and is in receipt of, or has an underlying entitlement to, one of the qualifying benefits listed above. In the case of a single parent family they would fall out of eligibility if they were to take early retirement on grounds of ill health. One member of the household has to be working or in education or training in order to qualify for the Offer.
Do you match any of the criteria above:

Exceptions for single parent households having to meet the earnings criteria or having to be in education and training

The sole parent in a single parent family must be working or be in education or training and meet the parental eligibility criteria. The only exception to this is where:
- the parent is employed (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) but is temporarily away from the workplace on statutory sick, maternity, paternity or adoption leave or on unpaid parental leave; or
- the parent is education or training (and meets the parental eligibility criteria) but has formally deferred their study for reasons relating to maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave or parental leave or due to long term sickness.
Separated parents:
Where parents have separated but do not share equal custody of a child, the child is considered to be part of the household of the parent with primary custody.
Where parents have separated and have equal custody of a child, one of the parents will need to be nominated as the lead parent for the purposes of the Offer. Where this cannot be agreed by the parents, the matter should be referred to the local authority for determination. How the childcare is used and apportioned between the time the child spends with each parent is a matter for the parents.
Do you match any of the criteria above:

Eligibility Criteria
- Please enter postcode
- Please tick here to confirm you have a child who is aged 3 and or 4 years old when applying for the funded childcare offer.
- Primary contact e-mail address
  This will be used to provide updates.
- You will only be invited to complete the next section if you are deemed eligible.

Welsh Government Funded Childcare OfferEntitlement Application Form

Please ensure you have the following information to help you complete the application form:

Please be aware that the information you provide when completing this form will be checked against other data held by the Local Authority in order to verify eligibility.

Working parent/s

Education and training

Parents and Carers

Kinship and special guardians:

Foster carers and adoptive parents:

Parents who have ‘no recourse to public fund’:

Parents in the armed forces:

Homeless households:

Exceptions for two parent households having to meet the earnings criteria or having to be in education and training

Exceptions for single parent households having to meet the earnings criteria or having to be in education and training

Separated parents:

You will only be invited to complete the next section if you are deemed eligible.

Welsh Government Funded Childcare Offer
Entitlement Application Form