From September 2026, eligible working Service families living in Scotland will have access to the same Government-funded early years childcare hours as forces families in England.
Eligible Service families are already able to access funding for before and after school childcare costs for their primary school aged children via the Defence Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme.
Wrap-Around Childcare (WAC)
Eligible Service families can claim a reimbursement for the costs of up to 20 hours of before and after school childcare - per child, per week.
Who is it for?
Eligible Service families with children between the ages of 4-11 years (4-16 if in receipt of disability benefits) who are in full-time education (from P1) including home education, and who are attending before or after school childcare during term-time (up to 39 weeks per year). This can save families up to £3,400 in childcare costs.
UK Nursery Authority (UKNA)
The UKNA scheme will reimburse eligible working parents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the difference in the costs of Early Years childcare hours, matching the “free” (Government funded) childcare hours they would be entitled to if assigned to England.
Who is it for?
Eligible working Service families with children aged between nine months and three years old, in childcare, can claim up to 30 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. For eligible families already receiving Scottish Government funded childcare for their two year-old, the Ministry of Defence will reimburse the cost of the extra hours to make the maximum number of funded hours that you will receive up to 30 hours per week. This can save families up to £6,000 per year.
How do childminders and families sign up?
Service parents can register for WAC and/or UKNA by completing the internal MOD registration processes. To be eligible, a Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) account must be in place for the child they want to claim the Defence funding for. The TFC account must receive the 20% top up from HMRC when funds are added and parents must pay their childminders from the account.
Childminders who are already signed up to TFC do not need to take any action. For any childminders who are not registered with Tax-Free Childcare, please visit the
Membership Dashboard, head to the ‘
Resources’ section and search for ‘
Tax Free Childcare’ to find out how to sign-up.
For further information about the schemes, including eligibility criteria, please visit the
MOD Families Hub Portal: Discover My Benefits - Families - Childcare and Early Years.