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Join more than 5500 Service families who are currently benefitting from claiming up to £3,400 per child per year of before and after school childcare costs.
The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme provides funding for up to 20 hours per week, per child, to eligible Service families with children aged 4 to 11 years old who are in school or being home schooled in the UK. Almost 8000 Service children's before and after school childcare is currently being funded by WAC.
WAC is also known as ‘Out of School care’ in Wales and ‘School Age Childcare’ in Scotland.
The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme provides funding for up to 20 hours per week, per child, to eligible Service families with children aged 4 to 11 years old who are in school or being home schooled in the UK. Almost 8000 Service children's before and after school childcare is currently being funded by WAC.
WAC is also known as ‘Out of School care’ in Wales and ‘School Age Childcare’ in Scotland.
What is changing in the autumn term?
Following feedback from you and a review of the schemes take-up, we have expanded the eligibility criteria, created a new and easier to use registration and updated the claims calculator and capped hourly rates in time for autumn term 2023.
If you are already registered for WAC or are considering registering your child(ren), please take a moment to familiarise yourself with updates.
What are the changes to eligibility?
The expanded eligibility criteria now include:
- All eligible Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel (i.e. Home Commitment and Limited Commitment in addition to Full Commitment who are already eligible).
- All eligible Service personnel Serving overseas, separated, with the family and childcare provider remaining in the UK (i.e. voluntarily separated in addition to involuntary separated who are already eligible).
Before registering for WAC, check if you meet all of the WAC eligibility criteria at the Defence Childcare Information page on defnet and Defence Connect.
A new and easier registration process
Following feedback, positive steps have now been made so that Personnel registering their child(ren) have an easier process. We are also currently working on integrating WAC registration and claims calculations within JPA.
Families who are already claiming WAC funding do not need to re-register for WAC, so long as eligibility criteria continue to be met, eligibility for WAC continues.
For the autumn term, personnel can now:
- Complete the new registration form on defnet to register each child. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will receive a unique WAC registration number.
- Utilise the updated claims calculator for the academic year 2023 and submit claims for autumn term childcare.
A change to the capped hourly rates
The WAC capped hourly rates, which are set by region and provider type, have changed for the 23/24 academic year. The capped hourly rates may have gone up or down and may affect the amount of funding you can claim.
Check the rates which are listed in 2022DIN01-079 - Wraparound Childcare on defnet and Defence Connect.
FAQ's available HERE
Need more information?
Need more information?
Visit the Defence Childcare information page on defnet and Defence Connect where you can find more information about the updates along with DINs, FAQs, and links to Self Service User Guides on registering and claiming WAC.
Families can visit Discover my Benefits Army, RAF, Navy or Marines for more information.
Families can visit Discover my Benefits Army, RAF, Navy or Marines for more information.