Advice for Providers
The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) is a Department of Education initiative aimed at reducing childcare costs by 15% for eligible working parents of qualifying children. The Minister for Education has announced that the scheme will continue from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026.
The subsidy scheme targets working parents who are eligible for Tax Free Childcare (TFC) and have children who have not yet started primary school. 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.
From 1st September 2025, working parents of school age children (Children aged 11 and under attending nursery, primary, or special schools. Children with disabilities attending post-primary or special schools, up to age 16) can now receive the 15% subsidy, up to the capped amount (£184), on their childcare bills.
As a provider you have a key role in implementing the scheme and administration the discount for the parent.
Next Steps for Providers:
Step 1: Register your interest to participate in the scheme
If you are eligible* and would like to register to participate in the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme, please complete the form below:
*Tax Free Childcare providers who are registered with FSNI or Schools
Step 2: Activate your account and create an online profile
You will receive an email to set up an account on the Early Years Online Grants Portal. This will enable you to log into the system and complete registration for the Scheme.
Step 3: Complete the registration process
This process is broken into two stages:
- a. Completing your setting profile on the system
- b. Approving children so they can benefit from the NICSS
You can watch these videos to see how to complete the registration process:
Step 4: Making Monthly Claims
Every month you can make a claim for the NICSS discount to be applied.
Watch this video to learn how to use the portal to submit claims:
Step 5: Reviewing Payments and Remittance
All claims and payment data is retained within your secure section of the portal. You can access and export this data each month.
Watch this video to learn how to review remittance payments:
Walk through Videos
As a provider you can watch this video and see how you can use the portal to process claims.
Watch this short video to see how you can update your fees on the portal.
Provider Documentation
Download the below invoice templates that have been designed to assist with creating an invoice -
Download the below templates if you have a child with TFC disability -
Contact Us
If you need to need to reach out to Early Years for any further information, you can contact us through Email or Telephone:
E: nicssprovider@early-years.org
E: nicsschildminder@early-years.org
T: +44 (0)28 9066 2825 (Option 3)