Help with childcare costs

The government funds the following early years entitlements for parents of young children:

• Families receiving some additional forms of government support, such as certain benefits or credits, may be eligible to access 15 hours of 2Help childcare per week for their 2-year-old 
• From September 2025 eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months can access 30 hours of childcare per week, known as the ‘expanded’ entitlement
• All parents of 3 and 4-year-olds can access 15 hours of childcare per week, regardless of their immigration status or whether they are working
• Eligible working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds can access an additional 15 hours of childcare, known as the ‘30 Hours or extended’ entitlement

For more information about the working parent entitlements.

For information about all government help with childcare costs please visit Best Start in Life.

When accessing a funded entitlement place, you should be aware that providers can make charges for the following extras in addition to the funded hours, however these charges must be voluntary for the parent:

• consumables to be used by the child, such as nappies or sun cream
• meals and snacks consumed by the child
• extra optional activities such as events, celebrations, specialist tuition (for example music classes or foreign languages) or other activities that are not directly related or necessary for the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

Providers can also charge parents for any additional, private paid hours according to their usual terms and conditions provided taking up private paid hours is not a condition of accessing a funded entitlement place.

Parents should be provided with clear and transparent information regarding the sessions that can be accessed as funded entitlement and any other voluntary charged for elements. Where you have a query regarding charges, please get in touch with your provider to review this with them.