How Working Parents Can Access 30 Hours of Funded Childcare in England

More than 1.7 million parents in England are now utilizing government-funded childcare hours following the full expansion of the entitlement scheme in September 2025. While the average cost of full-time nursery care for children under two has dropped significantly in England, the sector faces ongoing challenges regarding regional price disparities and the financial sustainability of providers. This shift is fundamentally reshaping the childcare market as the government attempts to balance increased demand with a target of creating 100,000 additional places and thousands of new school-based nurseries.

Starting in September 2025, eligible working parents in England with children aged nine months to four years became entitled to 30 hours of government-funded childcare per week during term time. According to the Coram Family and Childcare 2026 survey, this expansion has led to a 39% decrease in the average cost of full-time nursery for children under two in England, now sitting at just under £149 per week. However, this trend is not universal across the UK; childcare costs have risen by 11% in Wales to £325 per week and by 5% in Scotland to £259 per week. Furthermore, families who do not meet the eligibility criteria—typically those earning between £10,574 and £100,000—are facing higher costs, raising concerns from Coram about reduced access for disadvantaged children who may not qualify for the full expansion.

The implementation of the 30-hour entitlement has created friction between the Department for Education (DfE) and childcare providers. While the government increased hourly rates paid to providers, many nurseries claim these rates do not cover the full cost of care, leading them to charge for extras such as meals, nappies, and trips. Research from the charity Pregnant Then Screwed indicates that 23% of parents cannot afford to access the funded hours due to these top-up fees. In response, the DfE instructed nurseries in February 2025 to allow parents to opt out of these charges to ensure no family is priced out, a move that prompted over 5,000 nurseries to sign an open letter requesting a delay to the new rules, citing the need for these payments to subsidize care for older children.

To meet the surge in demand, the government aims to create 100,000 additional childcare places and 3,000 new nurseries within schools. Current DfE statistics show that over 600 schools have signed up to expand or open nurseries, creating approximately 11,000 places so far. Despite this progress, the Sutton Trust and the Social Market Foundation have warned that the 3,000-nursery target may be missed due to low demand from schools. Additionally, the sector faces a significant workforce shortage, with an estimated 35,000 new staff members and 70,000 total places needed to support the full rollout. Ofsted has also highlighted a decline in the number of childminders and the emergence of childcare deserts in lower-income areas, suggesting that the expansion's benefits may not be evenly distributed across the country.