England expands 30 hours of free childcare to nine months through four years

England has expanded funded childcare to 30 hours a week during term time for children aged between nine months and four years, a policy change implemented across September 2025. Ministers say the expansion has pushed take-up to a new level, bringing the total number of children benefiting from government-funded hours to a record high and claiming that 530,000 more children are now eligible for the funded hours. The government says the shift is designed to support working families, while acknowledging ongoing pressures in the sector.

The most recent official data show a sharp rise in participation. In the 12 months to January 2025, the number of children receiving free childcare hours climbed by about one-third, reaching 1.7 million, a record high. In September, the government said it had surpassed its target to provide funded childcare to an additional half a million children.

Under the England scheme, eligibility for the nine-month-to-four-year tier hinges largely on parental earnings. The majority of working parents must earn more than £9,518 a year but less than £100,000 to qualify for the 30 hours. Those on certain benefits can still access 15 hours of free childcare for two-year-olds, and in some cases parents who do not work can obtain the hours if their partner is employed or they are on specific leave provisions. The hours are intended to be used over 38 weeks of the year, typically aligned with term time; some providers offer a longer arrangement if families prefer to stretch hours across more weeks.

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The mechanism is straightforward: once eligible, families apply via the government portal. Applications open when a child is about 23 weeks old, with funding beginning at the start of the term after the child turns nine months old. Terms start on 1 September, 1 January and 1 April. If a family misses the start of the relevant term, funding does not begin until the following term. After approval, applicants receive an 11-digit eligibility code to share with a childcare provider. The hours are designed to be delivered during 38 weeks of the year unless providers arrange otherwise to fit family needs.

Costs in the sector remain a central concern for families and providers. The average price for a full-time nursery place (about 50 hours a week) for a child under two in England was £12,425 in 2025, a 22% decrease from 2024, reflecting the recent expansion of funded hours. By comparison, Wales remains the most expensive for under-twos, with average costs around £15,038. For older children, the cost dynamics shifted upward across England, Scotland and Wales, while Northern Ireland reported an array of 2024 figures for monthly childcare costs broken down by age group. The price reductions in England come amid broader sector pressure and rising costs in energy and staffing for nurseries.

The policy’s impact on supply has drawn mixed reviews. The Department for Education says an additional 35,000 staff and 70,000 places would be needed to meet demand by September 2025, when the free hours are set to expand again. That builds on a 2023–2024 increase of 44,400 places already reported by the department. Yet Ofsted warns that places are not evenly distributed geographically, and the number of childminders operating in private homes has declined, contributing to what researchers describe as “childcare deserts” in poorer areas.

The Early Years Alliance and other charities have warned that even with expanded hours, providers face financial pressures. A survey of about 1,100 nurseries found roughly 185 said they were likely to withdraw from the scheme within the next year if funding rates do not keep pace with costs. The charity noted rising energy bills and staff costs as key drivers of unsustainable financial pressures. The government has pledged to create 100,000 additional childcare places and more than 3,000 new nurseries in schools, with more than 5,000 new places opened in school sites in September alone.

The expansion also intersects with debates over targeted help. In 2025, there was concern that the share of two-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds receiving free hours had fallen from 75% in 2024 to 65% in 2025. The Department for Education cautioned that some families may have been misrecorded in the statistics, urging readers to treat the figures with caution while it works to improve data accuracy.

For families navigating the system, the opt-out debate amplified tensions around fees for extra services. In February 2025 the Department for Education advised nurseries to allow parents to opt out of paying for optional extras to ensure no family is priced out. Some providers argued they rely on these optional payments to subsidize free hours for three- and four-year-olds. In response, more than 5,000 nurseries signed an open letter to the DfE urging that the opt-out options be delayed to avoid destabilizing the sector.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, separate funding streams and eligibility rules apply, but families can also access the UK-wide tax-free childcare scheme, which provides government top-ups for eligible childcare costs. Under that scheme, for every £8 paid in, the government adds £2 (up to yearly limits), a mechanism that families can use alongside free hours when eligible.

Overall, ministers say the policy is a long-term investment in children and workforce readiness, while acknowledging the sector’s structural challenges. The government says progress toward its goal of more than 100,000 additional places and thousands of new school-based nurseries is ongoing, with continued monitoring of uptake, geographic distribution, and provider viability as the program unfolds.

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In assessing the broader impact, education officials emphasized that free hours are intended to reduce barriers to work for families, while industry groups stressed the need for stable funding and sufficient staff to sustain high-quality early years care. The coming months will reveal how the extended hours interact with rising energy costs, wage pressures, and the mix of private and school-based provision across regions, especially in areas historically underserved by early years services.

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