Free Childcare Hours Explained: A Simple Guide for Parents

If you’ve ever tried to work out exactly how many free childcare hours your child is entitled to, you’ll know it isn’t always quite as simple as the name suggests.

There are 15-hour entitlements, 30-hour entitlements, different rules depending on your child’s age and whether you’re working, eligibility codes to remember and term dates to think about. Then there’s the slightly confusing fact that the hours are usually described as a weekly amount, even though Government funding is based on 38 weeks of the year.

It’s no wonder parents have questions.

The good news is that once you understand which free childcare hours apply to your family, it becomes much easier to plan your nursery place and work out what your childcare might look like.

So, let’s make it simple.

 

What free childcare hours are available in England?

There are currently several Government-funded childcare entitlements available to families in England.

Eligible working parents can receive 30 hours of funded childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns 9 months old until they reach school age. All 3 and 4-year-olds are also entitled to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks, regardless of whether their parents are working. Some 2-year-olds can also receive funded early education depending on their family’s circumstances or additional support needs.

That means the free childcare hours available to your family will depend mainly on your child’s age and your circumstances.

You might also see the Government refer to these as funded childcare, free childcare or funded early education. Different wording, same basic idea: Government funding towards your child’s early years care and education.

If you’d like a broader overview of all the different types of support available, including Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit, our Childcare Funding Made Simple: What Help Is Available for Families guide is a great place to start.

 

Free childcare hours from 9 months old

One of the biggest changes to childcare funding in recent years has been the expansion of support for babies and toddlers.

Since September 2025, eligible working parents in England have been able to receive up to 30 free childcare hours a week from the term after their child turns 9 months old until they start school.

So, if you have a baby or toddler and thought funded childcare was something you wouldn’t need to think about until their third birthday, it’s definitely worth checking what you could now be entitled to.

Eligibility depends on your working circumstances and income. Broadly, you and your partner, if you have one, usually need to be working or starting work and meet the Government’s earnings criteria. There is also an upper income limit, with families generally not eligible for the working parent entitlement if either parent expects an adjusted net income above £100,000 for the tax year.

You can check your eligibility for free childcare for working parents on GOV.UK.

If you think the 30-hour entitlement applies to your family, our How Do You Get 30 Hours Free Childcare? guide takes you through the application process and important deadlines in more detail.

 

What about 15 free childcare hours for 3 and 4-year-olds?

This is where things are a little different, and it’s an important distinction.

All 3 and 4-year-olds in England are entitled to 15 funded childcare hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. This is known as the Universal Entitlement and isn’t dependent on parents working or meeting an income threshold.

At Poppies, you don’t need to apply online for an eligibility code to receive the Universal Entitlement. Once your child becomes eligible, we can arrange this funding for you.

The entitlement begins from the term after your child’s third birthday.

So, while parents using the working parent entitlement need to apply and receive an eligibility code, parents don’t need to go through the same process for the universal 15 hours.

Our 15 Hours Free Childcare: Who’s Eligible and How It Works guide explains this entitlement separately if your little one is approaching their third birthday.

 

Does 30 hours mean 30 hours every week of the year?

This is probably one of the biggest sources of confusion around free childcare hours.

The Government’s 30-hour entitlement is based on 30 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year, rather than 30 hours every week of the year. Providers can offer those hours differently, including stretching the total allocation across more weeks.

And this is particularly important at Poppies because we’re open for 51 weeks of the year rather than operating as a term-time-only nursery. We stretch funded hours across each funding term to help families have more consistent childcare throughout the year.

It means you’re still receiving the funded hours you’re entitled to, but the number of funded hours applied in an individual week may look different from the headline “30 hours”. This is one of those things that’s far easier to understand when it’s explained using your actual nursery pattern, so we’re always happy to talk you through how it would work for your child.

Our Nursery Funding Explained: What You Need to Know About Early Years Funding guide also explains in more detail how funding is stretched at Poppies and what that means for families.

 

When do free childcare hours start?

Unfortunately, your funding doesn’t simply switch on the day your child reaches the eligible age.

For the working parent entitlement, your free childcare hours usually begin from the term after your child reaches the eligible age, provided you’ve applied within the correct timeframe and meet the eligibility requirements.

There are three main funding start dates during the year: 1 January, 1 April and 1 September.

That makes the application deadlines particularly important. To receive funding from January, you’ll normally need your code by 31 December. For April, the deadline is 31 March, and for September it’s 31 August.

So, for example, if your child reaches 9 months old between 1 April and 31 August, their funded hours can begin from 1 September, provided you’ve applied and received your code by the deadline.

It can feel a little frustrating if your child reaches the eligible age just after one of those cut-off points because you may need to wait until the following term before the funding starts.

If you’re planning your return to work or arranging a nursery place, we’d always recommend checking your eligibility and dates early rather than leaving the application until the last minute.

 

How do I apply for free childcare hours?

If you’re applying for the working parent entitlement, you’ll need to apply through the Best Start in Life – Best Start in Life website. If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a childcare code to give to your nursery, along with some additional information so they can verify your entitlement. At Poppies, we’ll let you know exactly what we need from you, so you don’t have to work that part out alone.

There is one particularly important job that remains with parents, though: reconfirming your eligibility. You’ll need to sign back into your childcare account approximately every three months and confirm that your details are still correct. This keeps your eligibility code valid.

It’s a very small job that’s also very easy to forget when you’re juggling work, nursery bags, dinner and everything else life with a small child involves, so setting yourself a reminder can be a lifesaver. Remember, though, this application and reconfirmation process is for the working parent entitlement. You don’t need to do this for the Universal Entitlement available to all 3 and 4-year-olds.

 

Are free childcare hours completely free?

This is another very understandable question, particularly when you’re trying to work out your family’s monthly childcare costs.

Government funding covers the funded childcare hours themselves, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be nothing else to pay.

There may still be additional costs associated with meals, consumables, extra hours or additional services outside the funded entitlement.

At Poppies, funded hours are applied to our core sessions between 9am and 5pm. There may still be charges for meals, consumables if you haven’t opted out, additional hours or childcare outside your funded allocation.

We’ll always explain this when discussing your child’s place, so you know what your funding covers and what your childcare costs are likely to look like.

No mystery maths required.

 

Can I get other help alongside my free childcare hours?

Potentially, yes. Depending on your circumstances, you may also be able to use Tax-Free Childcare to help with childcare costs outside your funded entitlement.

Tax-Free Childcare can be used alongside the working parent childcare entitlement, which means it can be particularly useful for families paying for additional nursery hours beyond their free childcare hours.

Families receiving Universal Credit may instead be able to receive support towards eligible childcare costs through Universal Credit.

This is where childcare funding can start to feel like a bowl of spaghetti, so our Childcare Funding Made Simple: What Help Is Available for Families guide looks at the different schemes and how they work in more detail.

 

What do children actually get from their funded nursery hours?

It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers, codes and deadlines, but your funded hours are ultimately about giving your child access to high-quality early education and care. Nursery gives children opportunities to play, explore, communicate, develop independence, make friends and experience lots of things they might not necessarily encounter at home.

At Poppies, funded children aren’t treated differently from children attending privately funded hours. They’re part of nursery life, taking part in the same play, learning, routines and experiences throughout their day.

If you’re wondering what actually happens during all those nursery hours, our What Do They Teach in Nursery? A Parent’s Guide to Early Learning explains how much learning is tucked into everyday nursery life.

 

How free childcare hours work at Poppies

For families looking for childcare locally, we offer Government-funded places at both our Tidworth Nursery and Perham Down Nursery.

We know funding is often a big part of working out when your child will start nursery, which days they’ll attend and, importantly, what your childcare is actually going to cost each month. We also know that nobody particularly wants to spend their evening deciphering Government funding rules after finally getting the children to bed. That’s where we can help.

Our team can explain how your free childcare hours can be used against your child’s attendance, how we stretch those hours across the term, what additional charges may apply and what we need from you to make sure your funding is in place.

Because while the funding system itself can sometimes feel complicated, understanding your child’s nursery place shouldn’t be.

 

Free childcare hours: the simple version

If you’ve reached this point and your head is already full of hours, codes, deadlines and eligibility rules, here’s the bit we’d like you to remember.

All 3 and 4-year-olds in England receive 15 funded hours a week for 38 weeks of the year, while eligible working families can receive 30 free childcare hours from the term after their child turns 9 months old until they start school.

If you’re using the working parent entitlement, make sure you apply before the relevant deadline, give your code to your nursery and remember to reconfirm your eligibility every three months. Then let us help with the rest.

At Poppies, our teams at Tidworth Nursery and Perham Down Nursery are always happy to talk through your funding and explain how your entitlement could work around your child’s nursery place. Because finding the right childcare is a big enough decision. Understanding your free childcare hours shouldn’t make it harder.