Children's services
Sufficient childcare places available in Walsall – and here’s how you can secure yours
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Parents and carers in Walsall can be reassured that there are sufficient childcare places available locally to them and their family.
Despite other parts of England struggling to cope with demand for childcare places, Walsall has bucked national trends, and local data suggests no sufficiency concerns about the number of places available for eligible working families in the borough.
In September this year, the Childcare Choices offer will be expanded to eligible working parents in England with children between 9 months and 3 years old – and parents can apply for their childcare code now, ready to use in September.
In September 2025, eligible working parents with children between 9 months and up to school age, will be able to access 30 hours of funded childcare per week (1140 hours per year).
Earlier in the year, Walsall Council announced it was one of twenty local authorities selected to take part in a national recruitment drive to the early years sector.
The Council can now offer a ‘golden hello’ payment of £1000 tax-free cash to new or returning recruits, to help drive staff growth within the sector and offer an incentive for local people looking to start a career in early years.
“ We’ve been really supportive of the national early years expansion scheme so far and are working closely with the Department for Education and local childcare providers to develop the best possible access to childcare provision in Walsall. “
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Further information
More information about the golden hello £1000 tax-free cash incentive: https://go.walsall.gov.uk/newsroom/ps1000-cash-incentive-offered-new-childcare-workers-walsall
How to apply for your childcare code
- Parents can check their eligibility criteria here.
- If parents have reviewed the eligibility criteria and wish to apply, they can do so on the gov.uk website. Applications can take up to 7 days to process.
- If approved, parents will receive a code to give to their childcare provider, along with their National Insurance number and their child’s date of birth.
- Providers will then process the code to provide your child a place.
- Parents must reconfirm that they are still eligibly for tax-free childcare every three months via their Childcare Account.
- Parents who are already claiming Tax-Free Childcare will be automatically issued a code in the post from HMRC
- Parents with two codes (one code in a letter from HMRC, and a second code via their Childcare Account) are assured that both codes will be valid.
More information about the application process can be found here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/02/how-to-claim-15-hours-free-childcare-code/
The Childcare Choices website outlines information for parents/carers and providers about the upcoming changes to childcare costs.
This includes what support is available for different age groups of children, for working families and for families who currently receive additional government support.
You can access the website here https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Information is also available on the Walsall Family Information Service website, which include Frequently Asked Questions sections:
Childcare Choices for providers
Providers can also email EYandChildcareExpansion@walsall.gov.uk for any additional support.
