Delivering on its manifesto commitment, Defence will roll out the Wraparound childcare (WAC) scheme across the UK from Autumn 2022. WAC funding will be available to all eligible Service families with children aged 4 to 11 years, who are in school or being home schooled in the UK. If eligible, Personnel can claim up to 20 hours per week of funding for each child that is attending before and after school care during term time. WAC is known as ‘Out of School care’ in Wales and ‘School Aged Childcare’ in Scotland.
This is one of many steps that the Defence is taking to make the Armed Forces a more modern, inclusive, and family friendly employer.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to who also benefits from Wraparound Childcare agrees that it’s a fantastic scheme. For my family, it’s saved us financially, reduced our stress levels and has given us more quality time with our children.” Corporal Vicky, in the RAF
Important steps Service families can take now
Every child that personnel want to claim WAC funding for must be recorded on JPA and must have a Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) account.
If your child(ren) is not recorded on JPA and/or you do not have a TFC account, Service families should take the following steps now:
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- RECORD your child(ren) on JPA.
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- READ information about TFC accounts by visiting Tax-Free Childcare – GOV.UK.
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- CHECK if your family will financially benefit from having a TFC account or a salary sacrifice childcare voucher scheme, including the Armed Forces Childcare Voucher Scheme (AFCVS (Sodexo vouchers)). You cannot have both at the same time. To make an informed decision about which scheme suits your family best, use the childcare calculator on GOV.UK. Please be aware, if you choose to leave the AFCVS, you cannot re-join it.
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- APPLY: If you choose to claim WAC funding, you can create a TFC account for your child(ren) on GOV.UK.
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More announcements, resources and information sessions will be shared to help Service families check if their family is eligible and provide information on how to sign up for the WAC scheme.
Why is WAC being rolled-out from Autumn 2022?
Lack of available and affordable childcare is a concern that has been continuously raised in recent Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) and Families Continuous Attitude Survey (FAMCAS), and on behalf of Service families by Families Federations.
To start to address some of these concerns, WAC pilots were run at RAF High Wycombe, RAF Halton, Plymouth area, Catterick Garrison, Lincolnshire and Woolwich. During the pilots, over 1,800 children benefitted from the scheme, and families reported positive employment, financial, educational and wellbeing effects.
The Full UK roll-out of WAC shows that Defence is committed to ensure that current and future personnel receive the right support to care for their family. The WAC scheme provides Service parents with better flexibility and childcare support, mitigating some but not all, of the difficulties and expense of childcare provision.
Whilst we await further updates we have created a discussion area where you can post any questions you may have that are not covered in the details above: Wrap Around Childcare (WAC)
