Parent hub

What is 15 Hours Funded Childcare?

Government funding has previously been referred to as ‘free childcare’, but as the funding only covers 15-30 hours per week for a limited number of weeks per year, many parents had to pay to get the childcare they needed over and above the limitations. Recently the Government changed terminology to refer to this as ‘funded childcare’ as a more accurate term for the available support.

If you are a working parent, you may be eligible for 15 hours per week of Government funded childcare, for 38 weeks of the year, from your childcare provider to help reduce your childcare costs. Eligible working parents can receive the funding from when your child is nine months old.

There are three types of funded childcare available:

For children aged nine months to two years, you will need to check your eligibility for “working parents’ entitlement.”
For children who are two years old who’s parents are receiving certain Government support, parents may be eligible for 15 hours funded childcare each week (this cannot be used in conjunction with the working family’s entitlement).
Every three and four year old child is entitled to at least 15 funded hours of childcare which starts in the term following your child’s third birthday.

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Currently, some three and four year old children will be entitled to 30 hours of funded childcare where parents are able to combine the universal entitlement with the working parents’ entitlement. You can find out more about your eligibility and apply for funding on the Government early years education website Childcare Choices.

In September 2025 these criteria will change, to allow children aged nine months to four years old, of eligible working families, access to 30 hours of funded childcare per week. You can find out more on the Government Childcare Choices website here. There is a useful table at the bottom of the page that shows the options by age.

Grandir UK are pleased to provide Ofsted registered nursery and preschool providers across England where we accept government funded childcare.

Eligibility for 15 Hours of Funded Childcare for Eligible Working Parents

15 Hours Funded Childcare from Nine Months

Eligible working parents of children aged nine months to four years are entitled to 15 hours funded childcare to help with childcare costs. This is called the “working parents’ entitlement” and can be used with Ofsted registered childcare providers. To access 15 funded hours of childcare, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Your child must normally live with you,
You are working and earning at least the equivalent of 16 hours each week at national living or minimum wage,
if you are under 21 years old this income rate is variable depending on your age.
if you are self employed you can earn less and still be eligible.
You earn less than £100,000 a year per person (for working families, neither one of you should earn over £100,000 a year).

For a non UK citizen, you (and your partner, if you have one) must have a national insurance number, and either British or Irish citizenship, or have settled / pre-settled status or a UK residence card with permission to access public funds.

If you are a foster parent with children aged nine months to four years-old, you may also be eligible for the working parents entitlements, as long as the foster parent is in paid work outside of fostering and does not expect their adjusted net income to exceed £100,000. Your local authority or social worker with responsibility for the child must confirm the foster parent’s paid work is consistent with the child’s care plan.

15 Hours Funded Childcare for Two Year Olds

If your child is two years old, you could be entitled to 15 hours funded childcare if you are eligible for either the ‘working families entitlement’ or receive additional forms of Government support. Please note, you can only apply under one of those entitlements and can only receive 15 hours funded childcare per week in total.

The ‘working families entitlement’ criteria are listed above in our section entitled ‘15 Hours Funded Childcare from Nine Months’. Below are the criteria to qualify for the funding for families receiving Government support. Remember, if you’re eligible for both the working families entitlement and the 15 hours for families receiving support, you cannot take up both offers, and should apply for the 15 hours for families receiving support:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (or both), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
the Working Tax Credit four-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

If your child is two years old, you can also receive funded childcare if they:

are looked after by a local authority
have an education (SEN), health and care (EHC) plan
receive Disability Living Allowance
have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order.

See below: “How to Apply for 15 Hours of Funded Childcare” for details on setting up your government childcare account.

15 Hours Funded Childcare for Three & Four Year Olds

All parents in England with a child aged three and four years old are automatically entitled to access 15 hours funded childcare, called “universal entitlement”, from an Ofsted registered childcare provider, starting in the term after your child turns three years old.

There are no other eligibility criteria to access the universal entitlement. However, eligible working parents can combine this with the 15 hours funded childcare received through the working parents entitlement, to provide a total of 30 hours funded childcare each week.

Parents can use the universal entitlement from the term after your child turns three until they reach the compulsory school age, so if your child turns three years old between;

1st January to 31 March, your funded childcare starts 1st April.

1st April to 31 August, funded childcare starts 1st September.

1st September to 31 December, funded childcare starts January 1st.

How to Apply for 15 Hours of Funded Childcare

Working parents can apply for 15 hours funded childcare a week for children aged nine months old, from when your baby turns 23 weeks old.

You can use your funded hours in the term after you meet the full eligibility criteria for the childcare entitlement you are applying for. Funding terms start on 1st January, 1st April, 1st September each year. Here is how you can apply:

Set up your childcare account on the government website.
Apply for your childcare code via the government website – the website will tell you if you are eligible straight away, unless they need more information.
Secure your childcare place with your Ofsted registered Grandir UK nursery or preschool.
Give your code to your Grandir UK childcare provider. You will also need to tell your childcare provider your national insurance number and your child’s date of birth.
You must get your code before the new term begins to ensure your child’s funding is in place.

Parents must obtain their funding code before the term starts. Codes obtained after the deadline will not be valid until the following term. We suggest that parents aim to apply at least six weeks ahead of the deadline to ensure you can confirm your place in with your chosen Grandir UK childcare provider in plenty of time.

Once your childcare account is approved, the HMRC ask you to log in every three months to confirm your details are correct, but they will send you a reminder to do this. You will also need to confirm you still meet the eligibility criteria if you are a working parent and/or receiving tax free childcare.

Flexibility in Using Funded Hours with Childcare Providers

Your 15 hours funded childcare are provided for 38 weeks of the year. You can choose how to spread your 15 hours of childcare each week. For example, you may wish to use five hours per day over three days, or you may prefer to use three hours funded care each day over five days. You will need to speak with your chosen Grandir UK nursery to discuss how you spread your 15 hours funded childcare.

It is not possible to use more than 15 hours a week (or 30 hours if you are entitled to 30 hours a week).

Baby pulling a cheeky face at the nursery

Funding and Payment

How Does the Funding Work?

The funding for government-funded childcare is provided by the government and administered by local authorities. Eligible working parents can access up to 15 or 30 hours of funded childcare per week, depending on their circumstances. The funding is paid directly to the childcare provider, so parents do not need to pay anything for the funded hours. However, parents may need to cover additional costs for services such as meals, nappies, and trips, which are not included in the funding.

To access the funding, parents need to apply for a childcare code through the HMRC’s Childcare Choices website. Once you receive your code, you give it to your childcare provider, who will use it to claim the funding from the local authority. It’s important to reconfirm your eligibility every three months to continue receiving the funding. This process ensures that the funding is only available for those who meet the criteria and that it is used appropriately.

Benefits of 15 Hours of Funded Childcare

With 15 hours per week of funded childcare your family’s overall childcare costs will be reduced to help make accessing childcare more affordable to as many people as possible.

FAQs

Is There an Option for More Hours?

Yes, in addition to the 15 hours free childcare, working parents may be eligible for an additional 15 hours, bringing the total to 30 hours of funded childcare per week for three and four year-olds. This is subject to employment and income conditions, which you can check with your local council, or online here.

If you need more hours of childcare than the funded childcare provision you are eligible for, then you can secure the extra hours with your childcare provides, but any hours over your eligibility are not funded and will incur a cost.

What If My Circumstances Change?

If your circumstances change, such as no longer meeting the criteria for two year old funding, the hours may be adjusted accordingly. However, once your child reaches three years old, they will automatically be eligible for the 15 hours of funded childcare.

Where can I find out more?

You can start with our detailed pages about the Government’s 15 hours funded childcare offering and 30 hours funded childcare offering here.

Start Your Child’s Early Learning Journey Today!

Check your eligibility online today so you don’t miss out on funded childcare funding for your child.

Contact your local Grandir UK nursery and preschool today for help and support with your childcare funding application and reserve your child’s place in early education. Our team is here to provide the necessary childcare support to help you with your application and ensure your child receives the best early education.