Thousands of two-year-olds are missing out on the free childcare they are entitled to.
Fifteen hours of funded early education per week has been available to some youngsters since the end of 2013, provided they meet the Government’s criteria.
But figures from the Department for Education show that only 71 per cent of eligible two-year-olds in Manchester are getting their entitlement and 74pc across Greater Manchester.
This means that the parents of 26pc of two-year-olds in the region - more than 4,450 in total - are missing out on the government’s offer.
Figures vary widely across Greater Manchester, with Trafford’s take-up reaching 92pc, compared with only 62pc in Oldham .
Children are eligible for the free childcare if their parents receive certain benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, or if they are looked after by a local authority.
In 2014 the eligibility criteria changed to include those in receipt of Working Tax Credits earning below £16,190 a year.
There are more than 4,200 two-year-olds in Manchester alone who are estimated to be currently eligible for the childcare.
Since it was first extended to include two-year-olds there has been an increase in take-up - rising from 64pc in Manchester in 2015.
However, despite this increase the percentage of eligible two-year-olds receiving their 15 hours is still far lower than three and four-year-olds, 92pc of whom benefited in Manchester this year.
Some childcare workers believe this contrast suggests many parents are missing out on free childcare for their two-year-olds simply because they are unaware it is available.
In total, there are more than 4,400 eligible two-year-olds who do not receive free childcare in the Greater Manchester area.
Sarah Cook, is manager of Home-Start in Oldham, Stockport and Tameside (HOST), a charity that helps struggling parents.
It currently has a small contract with Positive Steps Oldham, who are commissioned by Oldham council to run Oldham’s Early Help services and this includes working with parents to increase the uptake of the two-year-old childcare offer.
Sarah says it is proving successful, but the success rate is far better in Tameside where they get more council funding.
She said: "Some parents are simply not aware that they are entitled to a free place and some lack the confidence or ability to complete the application process - due to language barriers or not having access to IT to complete the on-line checks.
"This is where Home-Start is helping – we go through the online eligibility checks with parents and support them to identify a setting that they are happy with, accompanying them to look around if needed.
"As always, we could do more to reach out to more parents if we had more funding."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "It is great to see that the vast majority of three and four-year-olds and many more two-year-olds from disadvantaged families are now benefiting from 15 hours of free childcare.
"On top of this, more and more providers are stepping up to deliver this offer – with hundreds more childminders and increasing numbers of private and voluntary providers offering this to parents.
"These figures show we are in a great position to double that offer to 30 hours from next September and deliver on our commitment to help hardworking families across the country.”
Who is entitled to the funding for two-year-olds?
From September 2013, the entitlement to 15 hours of funded early education per week for 38 weeks of the year was extended to two-year-olds meeting the following eligibility criteria:
1. They have a parent in receipt of:
Income Support;
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA);
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA);
Support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act;
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit;
Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income not exceeding £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs; or
The Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
2. Or they are looked after by a local authority
From September 2014 the entitlement to 15 hours of funded early education per week for 38 weeks of the year was extended further to two-year-olds who met the following eligibility criteria:
They have a parent in receipt of Working Tax Credits and have an annual gross income not exceeding £16,190 a year as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
They have a current statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or an Education, Health and Care plan;
They are entitled to Disability Living Allowance; or
They are no longer looked after by the local authority, as a result of an adoption order, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order which specifies with whom the child lives.
