How does funded childcare actually work? A UK guide

"Free childcare" sounds simple. Then someone mentions stretched hours, an eligibility code, term dates, and a bill for extras.

The way through is to separate three things: the hours that are funded, the hours your child actually attends, and help paying for what's left. They're not the same. And the scheme you can use depends on where you live.

England: start with age and eligibility

If you're a working parent and you qualify, you can get 30 funded hours a week for 38 weeks for a child from nine months to four years. That's 1,140 hours a year. Each parent has to pass the earnings tests: a minimum based on 16 hours a week at the relevant minimum wage, and a maximum that rules out anyone expecting adjusted net income over £100,000. There are exceptions and rules for parents on leave. GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, What you’ll get, GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, Check if you’re eligible.

England also has a universal 15 hours for all three- and four-year-olds, and a separate route for some two-year-olds where you or your child get extra support. So if you don't qualify for the working-parent offer, that doesn't always mean no funded hours. GOV.UK: 15 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds, GOV.UK: 15 hours free childcare (Early Learning for 2 year olds).

30 hours doesn't mean 30 hours every week

Some providers stretch the year's entitlement across more weeks. Spread 1,140 hours over 51 weeks and you get about 22.35 hours a week. That's an illustration, not a timetable every provider must offer. Ask how the entitlement fits their sessions and opening weeks. GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, What you’ll get.

The funding goes to your provider, not to you. In England, the local authority pays providers for the funded hours at its own funding rate, which may not match the nursery's usual hourly price, and providers shouldn't charge you a top-up fee for the funded hours to make up the difference. Department for Education: Early education and childcare, statutory guidance for local authorities. A written quote showing actual hours and charges is worth more than an assumed discount.

The start date isn't the birthday

In England, age-based start dates follow this pattern:

Other conditions, return-from-leave rules and application deadlines still apply. Get your code in time, confirm the start date with your provider, and reconfirm your eligibility when asked, normally every three months. Don't book a place on the strength of this table alone. GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, When to apply, GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents.

What about meals, nappies and extra hours?

In England, providers can charge for extra hours and optional extras like meals or nappies. But you should be able to take the funded hours without buying extras, and your provider should offer alternatives. If access is being made conditional on paying for extras, contact your local authority. GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, What you’ll get.

That doesn't mean every hour you need is funded, or that the rest of the invoice vanishes.

Scotland: a different age range

Scotland offers up to 1,140 funded hours a year of early learning and childcare for three- to five-year-olds before school, and for some two-year-olds. The main three- and four-year-old entitlement doesn't depend on whether you work. Start dates and how it's delivered vary, so check with your council or provider. Scottish Government: Funded early learning and childcare for 3 to 5 year olds, Scottish Government: Early learning and childcare.

Don't apply England's nine-month offer to a baby in Scotland. Other help with costs may still be available.

Wales: education and childcare combined

The Childcare Offer for Wales gives eligible families of three- and four-year-olds up to 30 hours a week of combined early education and childcare, for up to 48 weeks a year. That's 30 hours in total, not 30 hours of childcare on top of a nursery-education place. Welsh Government: Childcare Offer for Wales.

You can qualify if you're working, including if you're on statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, parental, bereavement or sick pay and leave, or if you're on a further or higher education course lasting at least 10 weeks. The income test uses the Welsh definition of gross income, with a £100,000 limit per parent. That's not the same calculation as adjusted net income for Tax-Free Childcare. Ask your local Family Information Service about help for younger children. Welsh Government: Get up to 30 hours of childcare for 3 and 4 year olds, Eligibility.

Northern Ireland: check the subsidy and your provider

The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme supports eligible working parents who use Tax-Free Childcare, where the provider has signed up. The subsidy is 15% of fees, capped at £203 per child per month. Early Years, NICSS scheme administrator: Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme, Parents. Ask for the invoice after the subsidy, and work out what's left to pay through your childcare account.

It isn't an England-style 30-hour entitlement. But the Pre-School Education Programme funds a pre-school education place in the year before your child starts primary school, and parents don't pay for these places. You need to apply, and each setting has its own admissions criteria. nidirect: Pre-school education places.

Help with what's left

Across the UK, if you're eligible for Tax-Free Childcare, you get £2 from the government for every £8 you pay in, normally capped at £500 per child every three months. The cap is higher for eligible disabled children. That top-up is 20% of the qualifying bill, not 20% on top of what you put in. HMRC: Tax-Free Childcare. Your childcare has to come from an approved provider, such as a registered childminder or nursery. GOV.UK: Help paying for childcare, Find out what approved childcare is.

Alternatively, Universal Credit childcare support can cover up to 85% of eligible costs, subject to award rules and monthly caps. You can't have it alongside Tax-Free Childcare. Either route can help with what's left after funded hours, but you can't claim twice for the same cost. DWP: Universal Credit childcare costs, HMRC: Tax-Free Childcare, Check if you’re eligible.

Get one number you can budget with

Ask your provider: "For these days, across the whole year, what do we pay after funded hours, which extras are optional, and when does the price change?" Then check which support route covers what's left.

The headline entitlement is where you start. The confirmed dates and the actual invoice are what make the budget work.