Every two-year-old in Flintshire is due to qualify for 12.5 hours a week of funded childcare by the end of March 2027, ending the county’s postcode system.
Flintshire County Council currently decides who gets a place by where a family lives.
Its published list covers 51 areas, including parts of Flint, Holywell, Connah’s Quay, Shotton, Mold, Buckley and Sealand.
Families outside those areas do not qualify, and the council directs them to its Family Information Service instead.
The places are funded through Flying Start, the Welsh Government’s early years programme.
The Welsh Government has said all 22 councils in Wales are now on track to offer the 12.5 hours to every two-year-old by the end of the current financial year, which runs to 31 March 2027.
When the present Senedd term began in May, only three councils were doing so.
The offer as it stands is term time only.
It covers up to 39 weeks of the year, not the full year, and funding starts the term after a child’s second birthday and runs to the term after their third.
Further stages have been set out but not dated.
Two-year-olds would move to 20 funded hours a week across 48 weeks, the offer would then be extended to all three and four-year-olds, and support would eventually reach children from nine months old.
Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams MS said:
“Childcare support for families is one of the key levers we have to address poverty, gender inequality, support our economy and improve educational outcomes.”
On all 22 councils reaching the target, she said:
“The fact that all 22 are now on track to do so by the end of this financial year shows the remarkable progress being made as a result of our determination to make childcare more affordable.”
She added:
“Access to high-quality early years education and care can have a profound impact on a child’s development and life chances, while giving parents practical support during the important first years of family life.”
Flintshire’s most recent expansion added seven areas on 3 November 2025, among them Shotton West, Mancot, Gwernaffield and part of Golftyn in Connah’s Quay.
In June 2025 the council approved 197 new funded places under an earlier phase, targeted at its most deprived communities.
The council’s published list of eligible areas has not yet been replaced with a countywide offer.
Parents can check whether they currently qualify using the postcode checker on Flintshire County Council’s website, or by contacting the Family Information Service.