Ministers have actioned a last-minute ‘workaround’ to ensure that thousands of parents of two year-olds can get their codes to take-up a funded place.
Last week, a survey by campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed revealed that thousands of parents using the Tax-Free childcare scheme - the same system that parents use to get their code for a funded place - were unable to access their code to give to their childcare provider.
Eligible parents have been able to apply for a code for a funded two-year-old place since 1 January for a 1 April start.
The Department of Education (DfE) confirmed that a pre-existing feature in the system, where parents re-confirm their eligibility every three months, is impacting a ‘minority of parents when combined with a small number of providers who are asking for codes much earlier than April’.
