Glossary · UK
What is 30 Hours Free Childcare?
A UK government scheme giving eligible working parents of children from nine months old up to 30 hours a week of funded childcare during term time, expanded in stages through 2024 and 2025.
Full Definition
30 hours free childcare is the expanded funded childcare entitlement available to eligible working parents in England, on top of the universal 15 hours a week available to all three- and four-year-olds regardless of parental work status. Following reforms announced in the 2023 Budget, the entitlement was rolled out in stages: 15 hours a week for eligible working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024, 15 hours a week for eligible working parents of children from nine months old from September 2024, and the full 30 hours a week for eligible working parents of children from nine months old up to school age from September 2025, extending what had previously only been available to three- and four-year-olds down to much younger babies and toddlers. To qualify, each parent in a couple (or the sole parent in a single-parent household) generally needs to expect to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage over the coming three months, while neither parent can have adjusted net income above £100,000 a year -- the same income cap used for the separate Tax-Free Childcare scheme -- with eligibility reconfirmed every three months through the parent's childcare service account. The funded hours are usually delivered over 38 weeks of the year (term time), though many providers allow parents to "stretch" the entitlement across all 52 weeks by taking fewer hours per week, and the free hours can typically be used at nurseries, childminders, and some school-based settings, though providers are not obliged to offer the funded hours and some charge additional fees for meals, trips, or hours beyond the funded allocation. Because take-up of the funded hours is administered through the same childcare service account used for Tax-Free Childcare, and because the funding rate paid to providers has not always kept pace with providers' costs, some parents find fewer providers than expected are willing to offer the full funded entitlement without a top-up charge, particularly in areas with high demand relative to nursery capacity -- a point of ongoing sector concern despite the scheme's rapid expansion since 2024.