Free early education and childcare for children aged 9 months and older with working families

The government may fund up to 15 hours of free childcare per week for children aged 9 months and older with working families.

Any hours over this, attended at a childcare setting, must be paid for by the parent or carer.

Eligibility

If you have a child aged 9 months or older and are employed or self-employed, you may be eligible to receive Working Families childcare funding. If you are a two parent or carer family, both of you must be employed or self-employed.

You can see if you are eligible by visiting Childcare Choices.

If eligible, your child can receive up to 570 funded hours per year, to be used in a childcare setting rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Foster children

If you have a foster child aged 9 months and older, and want to apply for Working Families funding, you should apply via our foster children scheme.

Funded hours

Funding can be taken over:

38 weeks (term time)
47.5 weeks
51 weeks
or
52 weeks

Your childcare provider can explain how they would claim funding - if it is used over term time or if they 'stretch it' over a longer period of time throughout the year. This will change how many hours you can claim in the week, but a stretched offer may be more suitable. Please ask your childcare provider for further details.

Children who are eligible to claim the funding will be able to claim in the first full funding block after they turn 9 months old.

The 3 funding blocks are:

1 September to 31 December
1 January to 31 March
1 April to 31 August

Claiming

To claim, speak to your chosen childcare provider who can help.

Providers may ask for a payment for meals and other consumables, as well as activities or trips.

Make sure you are aware of any additional charges before agreeing to take up the place.

Where

You can access this at most Ofsted registered childcare providers including:

private day nurseries
pre-school playgroups
maintained nurseries
childminders (including childminders registered with a childminding agency)
out-of-school provision
independent schools

Find a childcare provider

Multiple providers

You can choose to take all or part of this childcare at a maximum of 2 childcare providers.

When to use it

Not all parents choose to start their childcare as soon as they qualify - you may choose to start a few weeks into the funding block.

Your child is still entitled to childcare regardless of when you choose to start in the funding block, provided:

the childcare provider you have chosen has a vacancy
the available vacancy doesn't need the childcare provider to employ another member of staff - additional children would exceed the amount of children they are allowed to have (as set by Ofsted in the Ofsted ratios)
it does not state in the childcare provider's admissions policy or terms and conditions that they will not admit funded children after the headcount day has passed

Last updated 16 September 2024