Northern Ireland Childcare Support Scheme (NICSS)

The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) is one of the measures announced as part of Early Learning and Childcare Strategy announced by the Minister for Education in May 2024.

The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS)

The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) is an intervention designed to reduce the childcare costs of eligible working parents by 15% for all qualifying children.

The overarching aim of this scheme is to help working parents with the affordability of childcare costs.

The Executive has agreed that the subsidy scheme will target working parents who :-

• are eligible for Tax Free Childcare (TFC)

and

• have children who have not yet started primary school.

Starting from 1st September 2024, any parent receiving TFC, for a child who has not yet enrolled in primary school will be eligible to participate in the scheme, provided their childcare provider is signed up with HMRC as a TFC provider.

Early Years - the organisation for young children, has been appointed to administer the scheme on behalf of the Department of Education. 

Details on the scheme including guidance to support Childcare Providers' registration is available on the Early Years website

Advice for Childcare Providers :-

www.early-years.org/nicss/provider

Advice for Parents and Registering Your Child :-

https://www.early-years.org/nicss/parents

Advice For Parents From Employers For Childcare :-

Parents must be claiming Tax-Free Childcare to receive the new Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy, but many parents in Northern Ireland use a form of support other than Tax-Free Childcare (eg Universal Credit, Tax Credits or Childcare Vouchers) to help with their childcare costs.

Employers For Childcare would encourage parents to contact them before they make any decisions about moving from their existing form of support to join Tax-Free Childcare, as this may or may not be the best option for your family.

Telephone 028 9267 8200 or email hello@employersforchildcare.org for a personalised ‘better off’ calculation to find out what is best for your family.

Early Learning and Childcare Measures to be implemented in 2024/25.

Some of the measures proposed are currently under development with operational details yet to be confirmed. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) have been published to provide answers to common questions about the package of measures.

These FAQs will be updated and augmented on an ongoing basis so please check  www.education-ni.gov.uk frequently for the latest information.

FAQs Executive Early Learning and Childcare Strategy (at education-ni.gov.uk)