Free childcare extended to eligible working parents of children from 9 months to two years

The 15 hours a week free childcare entitlement was extended in September 2024 to eligible working parents of children aged from nine months to two years¹. The extension is the second stage of a phased expansion of free childcare announced in the Spring Budget in March 2023, which set out a timetable running to September 2025².

Under the plan, working parents of two-year-olds became able to access 15 hours a week from April 2024, and from September 2024 the 15 hours were extended to children aged nine months up to three years old². From September 2025, all eligible working parents of children aged nine months to three years are due to be able to access 30 free hours a week². The help is offered only to households where all adults are working at least 16 hours a week, and in a couple both parents must meet that test³. The Chancellor said the package was worth an average £6,500 saving for a family with a two-year-old child using 35 hours of childcare a week³.

The existing offer for three and four-year-olds remains up to 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks a year³. Separately, the childcare element of Universal Credit covers 85% of childcare costs, and the maximum amounts were raised from July 2023 to £951 a month for one child and £1,630 a month for two or more children, up from £646 and £1,108². The monthly amounts are also to be increased by CPI inflation each year until 2027/28².

The extension applies in England³. One source describes the plans as covering England, Scotland and Wales⁴, while another sets out the April 2024 and September 2024 stages without naming a nation²; the sources do not agree on the territorial scope of the later stages.

Why it matters for households

The change affects working parents in England with a child aged between nine months and two years who meet the work condition of at least 16 hours a week for all adults in the household³. From September 2024 those families can access 15 hours a week of funded childcare rather than paying for those hours themselves¹. The hours are funded for 38 weeks a year under the existing three and four-year-old offer³. Families claiming Universal Credit have a separate route to help with childcare costs, with the maximum monthly amounts set at £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children from July 2023². The benefits hub sets out how means-tested support is structured, and the Tax-Free Childcare vs Universal Credit Childcare Element guide compares the two childcare support routes. Parents moving into work or increasing their hours can claim help with their first month's childcare costs before paying for it, under a change announced for summer 2023².

What happens next

From September 2025, all eligible working parents of children aged nine months to three years are due to be able to access 30 free hours a week². The government has also said it plans to make 30 hours a week free for all children under school age from September 2025⁵. The sources do not set out how the September 2025 stage will be delivered or funded beyond the original announcement.