30 hours free childcare for children aged 9 months to 3 years from September 2025

Working parents in England of children aged nine months up to three years old can access 30 hours of free childcare a week from September 2025, under a staged expansion first announced in the Spring Budget of March 2023¹. The final stage follows 15 hours a week for the same age group from September 2024, and 15 hours for working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024¹.

The offer applies to parents in England working over 16 hours a week; in a couple, both parents must be working these hours¹. Which? reports the help is offered only to households where all adults work at least 16 hours², and that neither parent can earn more than £100,000 a year³. The hours run for 38 weeks a year¹. The Chancellor described the package as worth an average £6,500 saving for a family with a two-year-old using 35 hours of childcare a week², while Gingerbread cites an average saving of £6,900 a year⁴.

The rollout timetable, as set out at the Budget:

Separately, the maximum childcare costs claimable through Universal Credit rose from July 2023 to £951 a month for one child, up from £646, and £1,630 for two or more children, up from £1,108¹. Those monthly amounts increase by CPI inflation each year until 2027/28¹. From summer 2023, parents moving into work or increasing their hours could claim help with their first month's childcare costs before paying, rather than reclaiming afterwards¹.

Applications for the expanded scheme opened on 12 May 2025, with a deadline of 31 August to receive the free childcare from September³. Once approved, parents receive an eligibility code to give to their provider, who is then reimbursed for the funded hours³. The Department for Education will lead a wider review of childcare, according to the government's Child Poverty Strategy published in December 2025⁵.

Why it matters for households

The change affects working parents in England with a child aged between nine months and three years, from September 2025. It does not apply across the UK: in Scotland, all three and four-year-olds are entitled to 30 hours a week during term time, with a scheme for two-year-olds on certain benefits and a low income; in Wales, all three and four-year-olds can get 30 hours, and two-year-olds may qualify for part-time childcare through Flying Start; in Northern Ireland, three and four-year-olds get 12.5 hours a week through a funded preschool place, with no schemes for under-twos³.

The Bevan Foundation reported in March 2025 that a parent of a child under two in Wales spends on average around £2,600 a year more on full-time nursery than a parent in England, rising to almost £4,400 part time, and that English costs fell after April 2024 while Welsh costs for under-twos rose by between 7 and 9%⁶. It said no support at all is on offer in Wales for children aged under two⁶.

Free hours cover term time only, so holiday periods are not included unless a provider allows hours to be stretched across more weeks, which means fewer hours each week³. Tax-free childcare can be used for extra hours, holiday fees and extras, but cannot be used alongside Universal Credit or childcare vouchers, with exceptions³. For every £8 paid in, the government adds £2, up to £500 every three months or £2,000 a year per child, or £4,000 if the child is disabled³. HMRC says only about half of tax-free childcare accounts are used each month, with usage falling from 54.8% in October 2024 to 49.2% in March 2025³.

What happens next

The September 2025 expansion is the final stage of the timetable set out in March 2023¹. The Child Poverty Strategy reaffirms the expansion and confirms a wider Department for Education review of childcare⁵. Gingerbread has said it would have liked the funded offer extended to single parents in education or training, who cannot claim government-funded places⁴.