Ask us anything about funded childcare - eligibility, applying, and what to expect £100 voucher to be won!

[LibbyMumsnet]

From September, eligible working parents in England with children aged 9 months to school age will be able to access up to 30 hours of funded childcare per week - part of the government’s expanded childcare offer in England.

We know that for many parents, it’s not always straightforward. You might be wondering:
– Am I eligible?
– How do I apply – and what’s the deadline?
– What will funded hours actually look like in practice?
– How do I feel about sending my child to nursery or a childminder?

This Q&A is here to help. Whether you’re after clear, practical info about the funding or want a better sense of what formal childcare is really like, post your question below and we’ll do our best to get it answered.

No question is too small – if it’s on your mind, chances are it’s on someone else’s too.
We’ve brought together two brilliant experts to support this discussion:
👩‍💼 Sarah Walker, an experienced Early Years teacher, who can answer any questions about formal childcare
👩‍👧 Tina Williams, Head of Editorial at Mumsnet and a parent currently using funded hours, who’ll be sharing her real-life experience

They’ll be answering questions weekly throughout July and August in the lead-up to the 31st August application deadline.

💬 Ask your question below by 31st August and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 VEX gift voucher (T&C’s apply)

So my daughter is 16. She has struggled with school and her mental health - unlikely to go to college in sept. This means I will lose my child benefits (inc UC). What is considered acceptable in the way of education - looking at part time remote courses as a starting point. I feel a bit lost! I’ve applied for PIP for her but this takes months to get assessed. Thx

Hi all I done a dla form for my son August last year it was declined so I done a mandatory reconsideration in January I had a call Thursday she said at beginning they the right bank details we hold asked alot of questions before call ended she said id hear in 7 to 10 days and then said before I fo if u was awarded would it be okay for large amount to enter the bank u provided does this mean its a no it was a case manger who rang

Hi all, there is a cat that does not leave my garden, follows my daughter around the garden, out the gate down the road.

He is not chipped, I have posted in the street whatsapp group, on the local Facebook group and put a paper collar. Which is pointless as he doesn't leave my garden.

I emailed the vet to ask whether they think he might be a TNR cat as his ear has tip in it, but it could also be from injury, but it is a clean cut. The vet said its a possibility, but hard to tell. Having said that he is intact.

I'm worried some poor person is missing their cat. I'm not trying to steal it, I'm allergic (he doesn't not come inside the house).

He has apparently slept in my neighbours shed previously and tried to get into another neighbours house.

I do remember seeing the same cat on my shed a year ago, as I took a picture of him (looking cute)

😂😂😂 You need to start a separate thread.

Hi everyone, I’m wondering if anyone can help me estimate how much our nursery fees will be please? The nursery have sent us an email ahead of starting there with some funding info but I’m not too sure.

We have got approval for the 30 funded hours, and tax free childcare. He is entitled to 22.8 funded hours a week, and attends 3 days a week. Each day is from 7:45-6:15. They spread the funding over 50 weeks. There are 12 payments throughout the year, on the 25th of every month. One full day is £69.89 but they have said in the email that the hourly rate for funded hours is £6.66. I’m not sure if they phrased it like this so we know how to do some calculations using that as the base.

I was never good at Maths so not sure if I calculated this right - plus I typically need things super clear/spelled out to me.

I worked out that we’d need to pay 8.7 hours a week. Using the rate they gave us, that gave me £57.94 a week to pay - multiply by 50, and divided by twelve, that gave me £241.41 to pay per month after the funded hours, but before the tax free childcare came off too.

There are additional consumables we’ll be opting in for but that’s pretty straightforward as it’s £8 per day so that’s £100 per month.
Sorry for a ramble but wanted to include as much as possible. Would my findings for the fees themselves be correct? Or is this the completely wrong way of calculating it?

If one parent is disabled and unable to look after the child and the other works full time, so child has to go full time to child care. Is there any way to qualify for help?

Hello,
Could you please confirm that you would get free childcare for a 4 year old starting school on 10th September 2025 from 1st September to 9th September?
Once in school l assume you get no further free childcare?
Also how long does the government tax free childcare 25% top up remain in place once your child starts school please?
The reason for asking the above is so parents know if we are entitled to free child care for the first 1.5 weeks of September 2025 before starting school and what happens once your child is at school when you will still then use a nursery to look after your child when school has finished and you are still working.
Thank you for your help in anticipation.

1

You will not get free childcare for the first 1.5 weeks as the funding goes to the school for the year. You would still be entitled to the Tax Free Childcare until your child is 12 years old, so that can be used to pay for wrap around d and school holiday activities as long as they are Registered with Ofsted.

Many thanks for the reply.
The 1.5 weeks covers time when my 4 year old will still be at nusery before starting school on 10th September 2025, and so from 1st to 9th September 2025 when l am working.
I had understood that the nursery would be paid the 30 hours/week from 1st September until your child actually starts school, would that not be correct?
Thank you for confirming Tax Free Childcare applies until your child is 12 years old.

The PP understood the questions and answered correctly. It's the new term from 1/9 and your child is attendung school from September. The fact that they don't start until the 10th and you require holiday care cover means that you'll have to pay. This will be the same for all the school hols, you won't get funding for those either.

Thank you for your reply.
Seems a bit wrong for all working parents to not get 30 hours nursery cover for every week of the year.

Yeah sorry I don't make the policy, that's the government you want to be miffed at. It's well communicated from the beginning that funding is term time only / 38 weeks a year. Of course some settings willl let you stretch it across 52 weeks but thats a courtesy they logged rather than the government.

The gov isn’t funding our nursery adequately, therefore the additional 15 hours haven’t really made a difference to us. This is extremely disappointing given the COL crisis, cost of childcare, and low salaries.

Our monthly bill has only been reduced by £50 due to the gov shortfall, and top ups. Another year of over £1k per month in childcare costs.

Will the gov be addressing this issue, and providing adequate funding?

Is it better to have a child minder than nursery, as you get more days.

Can you tell us where to find the "Ask us anything about funded childcare in Scotland" thread?

It really does help , someone mentioned nappies as paret of the care fees , never got them when I used vouchers , all kids have very individual preference and it would be difficult for nursery to accomodate all the sizes brand htat people request plus some would be in non- disposables, so its only sense they do not supply nappies

the only reason a childminder could offer more days than a nursery is if they have the space available and nursery don’t. Works the other way too. Both can offer the same amount of funding if eligible, they take funding and they have any childcare spaces available.

Are you eligible for the funded hours if you get carers allowance and are not currently able to work? (The other parent is working) The carer cares for an elderly parent.

I’d advise awaiting an official reply on here but this is what the gov site says:
You may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you are on carer’s leave or if you get any of the following:

• Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Limited Capability for Work Benefit
• contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance

Direct payments - get the for my little boy , wkend rate at 4 hrs per wk. But I would like to pay the carer more , so pay them double but then get 2 hours per wk. Can I do that out of direct payment money or do I have to top it up myself ?

Yes – you can still get the 30 funded hours for your 3-year-old while you’re on maternity leave, as long as you were working and met the eligibility criteria before starting your leave, and you plan to return to work afterwards. You’ll just need to reconfirm your details every three months in your childcare account to keep the funding going. Hope that helps @Sk1sk0!

Hi @RainyDayApplePop – for the 30 hours funded childcare starting in September, the deadline to apply is 31 August. So you'll need to have applied and received a childcare code by then to use your 30 hours from September.

For the 30 hours funded childcare, you don't need to reapply each term, but you do need to reconfirm your code every three months to confirm you're still eligible. You will receive reminders from HMRC when it is time for you to reconfirm, and you can do this by logging onto your Childcare Account on GOV.UK. Hope that helps @itsywitsy.