Friendly Childminders' Hub
Launching on Sunday 1st February 2026 at 10am!
Funded Childcare
in England
England's funded childcare scheme has been expanding in recent years, which now means working parents of children from the age of nine months upwards can access funded childcare. At the risk of reading like the small print in an ad, eligibility criteria does apply! ​​​​​​​
The available funding schemes in England are explained below, but to find the best funded childcare option for your family, it's recommended you take a look at the government's Best Start in Life website, formerly known as Childcare Choices.​​​​​​​​
​BEST START IN LIFE​​​​​​
If you are a family who is not eligible, there are still some funded childcare schemes that your child maybe able to access to support with their early years education. To find out more about what is meant by early years, please have a look here. ​​​​​​
9 - 23 Month Old Funding
Children of eligible working parents are entitled to 30 funded hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. This is split across the academic terms, begins the term after they turn 9 months and is known as 'extended childcare'. ​​​​​
2 - 3 Year Old Funding
​Children of eligible working parents are entitled to 30 funded hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. This is split across the academic terms, begins the term after they turn 2 and is known as 'extended childcare'. ​
If families are in receipt of certain benefits and meet specific criteria (for example their child is adopted or receives Disability Living Allowance), then their child may be eligible for the 'Free Education and Childcare' scheme. This provides 15 funded hours per week for 38 weeks of the year, which is split across the academic terms. ​
This scheme is commonly known by the term, 'disadvantaged funding' and you learn more about it by visiting the link below: ​
​Free Education and Childcare Funding​​​
​​​In some circumstances, families are actually eligible for support from both schemes and if this occurs, the government stipulates that the deprivation funding scheme must be used. There's more information about this through the link above.​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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To find out more about how the funding is split, please have a nosey here.​
3 - 4 Year Old Funding
ALL children are entitled to 15 funded hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. This is known as 'universal childcare' and it's split across the academic terms, beginning the term after they turn 3.
Children of eligible working parents are entitled to an additional 15 funded hours per week ,for 38 weeks of the year. This is known as 'extended childcare', it's split across the academic terms, beginning the term after they turn 3 and it runs alongside the universal childcare. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​
To find out more about how the funding is split, please have a nosey here.​
Starting School
and Funding
​Once your child starts school in Reception, the funding is taken over by the Designated School Grant, which covers the cost of education for school.​
This means that funded hours are not available to supplement wrap around or holiday care. However, you maybe able to use tax free childcare if the provider is part of this scheme (please have a look here for more information).
Your child's chosen school maybe part of the government's initiative to provide free breakfast clubs. ​
If your family is in receipt of certain benefits, your child maybe eligible for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (commonly known as HAF), which enables eligible children to access free holiday clubs with meals during the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays.​
For more information about HAF, please contact your local authority. If you look on their website there maybe a dedicated section for it with details of how to apply and if not, call their main switch board and ask to speak with someone about it.
​​The only exceptions to the funding being taken over by the Designated Schools Fund would be the following scenarios, which would need discussing with your local authority;
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If your child is home educated they would be able to use their funded hours with a childcare provider until the term after their 5th birthday, which is when they reach compulsory school age.
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If your child's entry to school is deferred because you feel they are not ready for Reception and this is supported by the school, your child can continue to use funded hours with a childcare provider until the term after their 5th birthday.
Applying for Funding
Extended Funding
In order to access the extended funding for your child, you have to apply directly through the Best Start in Life website - this was formerly known as 'Childcare Choices'. If eligible, you will be issued a code that is 'attached' to your child and will accompany them throughout their early years. For example, if your baby is eligible for 30 hours extended care from January 2026, the same code will remain with them until they begin in Reception or their home education.​​​​​​​
BEST START IN LIFE - Funding application​​​​​​​​
This code needs passing to your childcare provider, so they can use it to claim the funded hours for your child. You also need to renew the code every three months, so the government can check if your child is still eligible for the funding, and you should receive a reminder email to do this! If your circumstances do change, your child is entitled to a term's 'grace period' to try and ensure continuity of care whilst you put a plan in place. ​​​​​​​​​
Universal Funding
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Children are automatically eligible for this funding the term after they turn 3, so you do not need to apply for it. Speak to your childcare provider and they will sort this funding out for you. ​​​​​​​​​​​
Free Education and Childcare Funding
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You have to contact your local authority to find out if your child is eligible for this 'disadvantaged funding'. Use the link below to find out the contact information your local authority. If you are struggling to find what you're looking for on their website, call your council's main switchboard and ask to speak with someone about the Free Education and Childcare Funding.​​​​​​​​
​FIND YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY​​​​​​​
How Funding is
Split Across the Year
Both the 15 and 30 hours funding are provided for 38 weeks of the academic year, which matches the number of weeks that schools are open for.
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This academic year is split into three terms:​​​​
Autumn - 1st September 'til 31st December​​​​​​
​Spring - 1st January 'til 31st March​​​​​​​
Summer - 1st April 'til 31st August ​​​​​
As you can see, the terms are not split evenly with Autumn containing 4 months, Spring 3 months and Summer 5 months, and this affects the funding available each term. ​​​​​
So when you see the information that states your child is not eligible for funding until the term after their qualifying birthday, it's referring to these dates, and the government is strict! If your child misses the cut off by even one day, they have to wait until the following term to access the funding! ​​​​
​The 38 weeks are shared unevenly across these terms because they also take the school holidays into consideration. The actual dates are determined by each local authority and may vary slightly across the country. Here's a typical example:​​​​​
Autumn - 15 weeks​​​​​
​​Spring - 11 weeks​​​​​​
Summer - 12 weeks​​​​​
​If your child attends a setting for more than their funded hours, you will of course need to pay for the additional hours from your own pocket, on top of any consumable fees. Most childcare providers invoice monthly within an academic term, so you can expect to see fluctuations in your bill, depending on what term it is. ​​​​
Funding Scenarios
​Here are three funding scenarios to give you a better idea of what funded places and bills may look like:​
FUNDING SCENARIO 1 - 30 hours all year round​​​​
FUNDING SCENARIO 2 - 15 hours term time only​​​​
Consumable Fees
Childcare providers are likely to ask parents to pay consumable fees for items that are not covered by the funded hours. This may include items such as; snacks, meals, trips out, sun cream, nappies, wipes etc. ​​​​​​​​​
This is of particular significance for those children in receipt of 3 - 4 year old funding as the rate paid by the government for this age group is considerably less than that for 2-3 year olds, and even more so for than the rate paid for the 9 - 23 month old age group!​​​​​​​​​
Consumable fees and funding rates have been 'hot topics' for a long time across the entire childcare sector. Here's an article from the Early Years' Alliance to shed a little more light on the situation:​​​​​​​​​
EYA Article on Government Updates About Charges​​​​​​​​​​​​
​​​Sadly, it appeared that some settings were being vague with their consumables and overcharging parents, whilst others were not asking for any contributions and were struggling to make ends meet.​​​​​​​​​
The Department for Education updated its statutory guidance, providing clarity and transparency for both providers and parents, regarding the access of funded places and the associated consumable fees.​​​​​​​​​​
The article below from the DfE explains the new policies on charging and it also contains a link to the Statutory Guidance, which has a specific parents' section under Part C.​​​​​​​​​​
DfE Article on Charging​​​​​​​​​​​
​Have a Chat with Your Childcare Provider
When you are choosing someone to care for your child and you're establishing a rapport, have a conversation with them about their rates and consumable fees. Honesty and transparency is always best! Find out what their fees are, what's included and then weigh up whether it's better for you to pay those fees or provide everything they list for yourself. ​​​​​​​​​​
Childminding Expenses
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Whilst childcare fees are expensive, hence the government subsidies to support parents with this, there are also a lot of expenses that childminders need to cover! As many work from home, it is often assumed that their overheads are low, but that isn't the case! ​​​​​​​​​
Childminders need to pay for registration, insurance, Ofsted or agency fees, statutory training, continuous professional development, organisation memberships, specialist equipment to suit their cohort, resources, home adaptations to make it safe, suitable vehicle and car seats (if applicable), resources for both indoors and out that suit all age groups and support all areas of learning and development... the list goes on and that doesn't include items like meals, snacks and trips that would be included in the consumables fee.​​​​​​​​​
Childminders are a unique breed whose careers are lifestyle choices, because they often work from home and it's hard to separate the two. They provide their mindees with the best of both worlds; excellent educations in warm and nurturing homes. ​​​​​​​​
To find out more about how amazing childminders are, have a look at this:​​​​​​​​​
​100 Reasons to Choose a Childminder​​​​​​​​​
