30 hours free childcare has been extended to all eligible children from 9 months from September 2025 . *This is highlighted in the media as 30 hours free childcare, this is in fact only over 38 weeks. For settings that operate over longer weeks, as we do, this equates to just over 22 hours per week. If you want to find out more about claiming 30 hours with other government childcare benefits then click here
Eligibility rules for 30 hours free childcare
- Your child must be eligible in the term before the funding can be applied.
- Both parents must be working – or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family
- Each parent earns, on average, a weekly minimum equivalents to 16 hours at the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for their age
- Each parent must have an annual income of less than £100,000
- You must live in England
- Whilst the scheme is for working parents, you might still be eligible if one of you is an official carer. You might still be eligible if you are receiving disability benefits and the other one is working. There may also be other eligibility criteria announced.
- If you have a Zero hours contract and earn the equivalent of 16 hours at your minimum wage then you are eligible.
- If you are self-employed and earn the equivalent of 16 hours at your minimum wage then you are eligible.
More information on suport with childcare costs can be found here.
How do I apply for my 30 hours free childcare
If you think you are eligible for 30 hours free childcare then you need to check your eligibility with HMRC. It is the same application process as for the Tax free Childcare Accounts, although you do not have to have those as well if it does not suit you financially, so just tick the boxes that you wish to use. You can find out more about what is best for your family via the government website www.besstartinlife.co.uk. Once you have received your 30 hour eligibility code then you need to bring it along to get it verified. You cannot access your childcare until we have had the code verified by the local authority. The process can take 2-3 weeks so do this at least a month before the start of the term. These time frames are set by the government and if you do not register for your hours before the start of term then we may not be able to claim those for you for that term.
30 hours free childcare – our choices for parents
We have consulted with our parents over which are the most suitable hours for us to provide the free hours and have constructed our Nursery Fees and Sessions around this for each individual nursery. We offer fully funded places where you can choose to opt out of our fully enhanced services, this is all detailed in our Funding Policy, Provision of Food Policy, Consumables & Activities Policy and our Admissions & Waiting List Policy. If you are unsure about anything then please just come along and ask
What if I lose my job? If you lose you job and don’t obtain another they you will become ineligible for the working fammilies entitlement funding. However, there will be a short ‘grace period’ in the 30 hours free childcare, which will take you to the end of any term. This allows parents time to find a new job and still use their eligible hours whilst doing so. If you are unsuccessful then your entitlement will will either be lost if your child in under 3 or it may revert to the universal 15 hours free childcare, which is available for all children in the term after thay turn 3.
