30 hours free childcare eligibility

[Hann376]

Hi I understand all parents with 9+ month olds will be entitled to 30 hours free from September 2025. And there is also tax free childcare

I can’t find anything in the eligibility details about a minimum number of hours the child needs to be in childcare to be entitled. For example if child is only in nursery 3 or 4 days a week do you get the full 30 hours free even if the child is only in nursery 30 hours or less??

also How many hours do nurseries consider in each day? The nursery our baby will be in is open 7:30am - 6:30pm so even if they are in for a full day even if not for all those hours is a full day considered 11 hours and therefore a full week is 55 hours, 4 days 44 hours etc?

thanks!!

The 30 hours is term time only so if used for full time year round childcare it’s about 21 a week. Each nursery will have different criteria for the hours, some allow you to apply them during any time, for some the ‘free hours’ are say 9-1 like a preschool and the wrap around time will be charged in full.

In most nurseries you need to pay for a full day even if you pick your child up earlier.

It’s up to the nursery provider how they allocate the funded hours. That said, some LEAs are having a crackdown as many had policies that were disadvantageous to parents.

My LA restricts funding to a maximum 10 hour day and minimum 2 days a week.