The funded hours in England
England has three separate funded entitlements. Two are based purely on your child's age; the big one is for working parents. They can stack — a working-parent toddler can have the 30 hours, then keep them at age 3 and 4.
| Age band | Funded hours | Who qualifies |
|---|
| 9 months–school age | 30 hours/week (38 weeks) | Working parents who meet the earnings and income test below. Live since 1 September 2025. |
| 2 year-olds | 15 hours/week (38 weeks) | Households on certain benefits (e.g. lower-income Universal Credit), looked-after children, or children with an EHC plan. Separate from the working-parent route. |
| 3 & 4 year-olds | 15 hours/week (38 weeks) | Everyone — universal, no earnings test. Roughly 570 hours a year. |
The 15-hour universal entitlement for 3 and 4 year-olds starts the term after your child turns 3. The "38 weeks" is term time — see the stretching point below if you want to spread the hours across the holidays too.
The big change: 30 hours from 9 months
The working-parent entitlement was rolled out in stages — 15 hours for 2 year-olds from April 2024, then 15 hours from 9 months in September 2024, and finally the full 30 hours from 9 months to school age from 1 September 2025. So in 2026 a working family can have 30 funded hours for a child as young as 9 months. The government estimates this can be worth up to around £7,500 a year per child.
Who counts as a working parent
To get the 30-hour (or the 15-hour-from-9-months) working-parent entitlement in England, you generally have to pass an earnings test and an income cap:
- You each earn enough. You — and your partner, if you have one — usually each need to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum or Living Wage. In a couple, both of you normally have to work; in a single-parent family, just you.
- Neither of you earns too much. If you or your partner expect an adjusted net income over £100,000 a year, you're not eligible — even if everything else fits.
There are sensible exceptions: you can still qualify if one parent works and the other can't (for example because they get certain disability or carer's benefits), and being self-employed, on maternity/paternity leave or recently starting work can still count. The official GOV.UK eligibility checker is the quickest way to be sure.
If you don't meet the working-parent test, you still get the universal 15 hours for a 3 or 4 year-old, and you may get the 2 year-old 15 hours if you're on a qualifying benefit. You can also use Tax-Free Childcare or the Universal Credit childcare element to help with the rest of your costs.
"38 weeks", stretching, and what "free" doesn't cover
The hours are set as a number per week across 38 weeks — term time. So 15 hours a week is about 570 hours a year, and 30 hours a week is about 1,140 hours a year.
Many providers let you "stretch" the same total hours over more weeks at fewer hours per week, so you can use some of the funding during school holidays. Whether stretching is offered is up to your provider, so ask before you sign up.
"Free" doesn't always mean £0 at the door
The funded hours are free, but a provider can charge for things the funding doesn't cover — meals, nappies, sun cream, trips, and extra hours beyond your entitlement. These should be optional consumables and activities, and a provider can't make paying them a condition of your free place. Always ask for the charges in writing before you start, and if a setting tells you the free hours are only available if you also buy paid hours, that's worth questioning.
Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland are different
This matters: childcare is devolved, so the England rules above do not apply across the UK. If you live in another nation, use its scheme.
🏴 Scotland — up to 1,140 hours a year
All 3 and 4 year-olds, and eligible 2 year-olds, can get up to 1,140 funded hours a year of early learning and childcare — about 30 hours a week if used in term time. It's arranged through your local council, not a GOV.UK code. Eligible 2 year-olds include children whose household gets certain benefits or who are care-experienced. Start at mygov.scot.
🏴 Wales — the Childcare Offer + Flying Start
Wales runs the Childcare Offer for Wales: up to 30 hours of funded early education and childcare for working parents of 3 and 4 year-olds, available across more weeks of the year than England's term-time model. There's also Flying Start childcare for 2 year-olds in eligible areas. Check gov.wales.
🇬🇧 Northern Ireland — funded pre-school
Northern Ireland's main offer is funded pre-school education in the year before a child starts primary school, applied for through the Education Authority — it's more limited than the England/Scotland/Wales hours and is being expanded. Separate help with childcare costs runs through schemes like the NI Childcare Subsidy Scheme. Start at nidirect.
Don't assume — check your own nation
The hours, ages and how you apply all change at the border. Read your nation's official page above before you count on a number, because the figures in the England section don't carry across.
How to get your hours (England)
Apply for your childcare code — and reconfirm it every 3 months
The 15 hours for 3-4 year-olds is automatic — just tell a provider. For the working-parent 30 hours you apply for an 11-digit code on the GOV.UK childcare account, give it to your provider, and reconfirm every 3 months or it can stop. The same account runs your Tax-Free Childcare. Have ready: your National Insurance number, your child's date of birth, and your income details.
- Check what you qualify for using the GOV.UK checker — universal 15 hours, 2 year-old 15 hours, or the working-parent 30 hours.
- Apply for a code on the GOV.UK childcare account if you need the working-parent hours. Apply before the term you want the place to start, and mind the cut-off dates around your child's birthday.
- Give the code to a provider — a registered nursery, childminder or school nursery — with your NI number and your child's date of birth. Find one on Childcare Choices or your council's Family Information Service.
- Reconfirm every 3 months. Sign in to your childcare account and confirm your details on schedule, or your funded hours can be withdrawn. Set a reminder with our deadline guardian.
Funded hours can be combined with Tax-Free Childcare (the government adds £2 for every £8 you pay, up to £2,000 a year per child) and, for lower-income families, the Universal Credit childcare element (up to 85% of childcare costs back). Run our free benefits check to see everything you may be missing.
Free UK support