The expansion of funded childcare from April 2024
More working families will soon benefit from funded childcare places. From April 2024, existing childcare support will be expanded in phases. By September 2025, most working families with children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.
The changes are being introduced gradually to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families. This means that:
- From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours childcare support.
- From September 2024, 15 hours childcare support will be extended to working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.
- From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week.
Depending on your childcare provider, these hours can be used over 38 weeks of the year (during school term time), or stretched over the whole year using fewer hours per week.
It is likely that working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to apply for funded childcare from January 2024. Further information about the application process will be published on this page when it becomes available.
For the latest information about funded childcare places please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.