Have the 30 hours of funded childcare brought down costs for parents?

The cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two in England has fallen by nearly 40% for some families, according to the latest annual survey from the Coram Family and Childcare charity.

Eligible working parents of children aged between nine months and four years old in England have been entitled to 30 hours a week of government-funded childcare during term time since September 2025.

But childcare costs have risen for families in England who don't qualify for the free hours, and have also gone up in Scotland and Wales.

The average cost of full-time nursery (50 hours a week) for a child under two in England is just under £149 per week in 2026.

That's down 39% from 2025, according to the charity, which tracks the cost of childcare in England, Scotland and Wales.

Coram's 2026 survey is the first since the full expansion of government-funded hours in England.

It found that costs have risen for families in England who are not eligible for the funded hours - either because they are not in work, do not earn enough or do not meet other criteria.

The charity says there's a risk that some disadvantaged children may have less access to early years education than those in working families.

Families in Scotland and Wales have also not seen their childcare costs fall.

Coram's data suggests Wales is now the most expensive place for under-twos, with a full-time nursery place costing £325 a week. This is up 11% from 2025.

A similar full-time nursery place in Scotland costs £259 a week, up 5%.

The cost of a full-time place for three and four-year-olds has also gone up across England, Scotland and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, separate figures show that in 2024 - the most recent year for which data is available - the average monthly cost of childcare was:

£520 for children under one £500 for one-year-olds £415 for three-year-olds £190 for four-year-olds

In England, all three and-four year olds are eligible for 15 hours of government-funded childcare, regardless of their parents' working status.

Other help is also available, but it depends on the age of the child and whether the parents are working or receiving certain benefits.

Since September 2025, working parents have been entitled to:

30 hours of funded childcare for children aged between nine months and four years old

To qualify for the hours, the majority of parents must earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 per year.

Those on certain benefits can get:

15 hours of free childcare for two-year-olds

Parents who do not work might still be eligible for 30 hours of free childcare if their partner works, or they receive some benefits - for example if they are on maternity or paternity leave.

The most recent official figures show that the number of children who receive free childcare hours in England rose by 33% in the 12 months to January 2025, to a record high of 1.7 million.

In September 2025, the government said it had exceeded its target to provide funded childcare to an additional half a million children.

UK government: Childcare choices UK government: Childcare calculator

The government website has details of the deadlines to apply for each age group.

For the working parent entitlement, you can apply once your child is 23 weeks old but the funding starts at the beginning of the term after the child reaches nine months old.

The terms start on 1 September, 1 January and 1 April.

If your child is eligible but you don't apply before the start of the relevant term, your funding won't begin until the start of the following term.

Once your application has been approved, you will receive an 11-digit code which you need to give to your childcare provider.

The funded childcare hours are designed to be used over 38 weeks of the year - during school term time.

However, some providers will stretch them over 52 weeks if children use fewer hours per week.

The government has increased the hourly rate it pays childcare providers offering funded hours.

But in many cases, this rate does not cover the full cost of the childcare, and some providers charge for extras like meals, nappies, sun cream or trips.

According to research from the Pregnant Then Screwed charity, almost a quarter (23%) of parents it surveyed said they couldn't afford to access the funded childcare hours because of top-up fees.

In February 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) wrote to nurseries saying parents should be able to opt out of paying for these extras, "to ensure no family is priced out".

However, some providers say they use these payments to subsidise the cost of the funded hours for three and four-year-olds.

More than 5,000 nurseries signed an open letter to the DfE asking for the new opt-out rules to be delayed.

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The DfE said an additional 35,000 staff and 70,000 places would be needed to meet demand by September 2025, when the funded hours were fully rolled out.

The number of childcare places had already risen by 44,400 between 2023 and 2024, according to its figures.

But the education regulator Ofsted has warned that places have not been evenly spread across the country.

The number of childminders - those providing early years care in private homes - has decreased.

On average, so-called "childcare deserts" have lower household incomes and higher levels of deprivation than other areas.

Britain's nursery problem: Parents still face 'childcare deserts' Nursery teachers to get £4,500 to work in disadvantaged areas

Early years charities are concerned that the latest figures from the DfE show that the number of two-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds receiving funded hours is down from 75% in 2024 to 65% in 2025.

However, the DfE says some families have been incorrectly recorded in the statistics, so the figures should be treated with caution.

The latest survey on "sufficiency" of childcare within local authorities by Coram suggests there aren't enough early years childcare places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The charity defines "sufficient childcare" as a local authority having enough places for at least 75% of children in its area.

Three-quarters of local authorities in England told Coram they had enough childcare for at least 75% of children under two who are eligible for the 30-hour entitlement.

But fewer than half of local authorities in England (44%) reported having sufficient childcare for early years children with SEND in their area, and this falls to 23% for school aged children with SEND.

What is SEND and how many children get support?

The government has promised to create 100,000 additional childcare places and more than 3,000 new nurseries in schools.

It says more than 5,000 new childcare places opened in nurseries on school sites in September 2025.

But private nursery bosses argue the government's increased funding rates do not cover their rising energy and staff costs.

The Early Years Alliance charity said about 185 of 1,100 private nurseries it surveyed said they were "likely" to withdraw from the scheme within the next 12 months "due to unsustainable financial pressures".

Scotland

All three and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds are entitled to 30 hours a week of funded childcare during term time (or 22 hours a week if used across the year), regardless of their parents' working status.

Wales

Eligible parents can get 30 hours of childcare for three and four-year-olds, and the government says it is expanding support for two-year-olds.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) provides a 15% discount on childcare to qualifying working parents with pre-school-age and primary aged children.

Children with disabilities attending post-primary or special schools up to age 16 can also receive the subsidy.

Parents may be entitled to other support, including the UK-wide tax-free childcare scheme.

For every £8 paid into an online childcare account, the government adds £2 (up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for disabled children).

Parents can use the money to pay for approved childcare, for example:

childminders, nurseries and nannies after-school clubs and play schemes

The childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme.

Parents who qualify for free childcare hours can save in the tax-free scheme as well.

How much is child benefit worth and who can claim it?

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