(Free ‘30 Hours’ Childcare Scheme for Eligible Working Families)
In September this year (2025), free childcare for eligible working families expands to 30 hours per week for children as young as just 9 months. Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods is supporting the funding scheme too. Taken usually over 38 weeks* of the year, it means a generous 1140 hours of funded childcare will be available to eligible children in Central Lancashire over the course of a year. For the first time, the funding will cover eligible babies aged from only 9 months and children up to 2, the scheme having previously rolled out to eligible 3-and-4-year-olds last year. An urgent factor to be aware of, however, is that the funding application deadline is only weeks away for those wanting to start in the September 2025 term. So, whether you’re thinking of applying at Little Acorns Nursery or elsewhere, don’t delay your application any longer if you want to access the free funding from September. If your child is eligible and you do not apply by the deadline, your child will not be able to access the free funding for the entire September term. Read on to learn more about the new funding for eligible working families, the deadlines for applications, and the rules that apply.
When is the Application Deadline for the September Term?
— & What if you Miss it?
The application deadline for September 2025 childcare funding is the 31st of August 2025. At the time of writing (late June 2025), that’s just a few weeks away. If you miss the August deadline, your child will not be able to access funding for that term even if, in theory, they had been eligible. You will then either need to pay for childcare during the September term or defer your funding application to the following one. That begins in January 2026 with an application deadline of 31 December 2025. Similarly, if you miss that deadline, you’ll need to cover childcare costs yourself or defer to the subsequent term, which will start in April 2026. The funding application deadline for the April term will be 31 March 2026.
Is Little Acorns Nursery, Chorley, Accepting ‘30 Hours’ Funded Applications?
Yes, Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods will be supporting the newly expanded free childcare scheme. That means we’ll be able to look after eligible Lancashire children, including babies aged from just 9 months, free of childcare costs† for 30 hours* per week subject to available places.
† While the free childcare hours are funded by the government scheme for eligible working families, extras like the cost of trips, nappies, food/drink, and any additional hours are not usually covered. Ask your specific childcare provider for clarification.
Why is the Free Childcare Available?
The newly expanded childcare funding scheme for working families has several aims and stems from plans made originally during the Spring Budget of 2023. Although the governing party changed in the intervening time, the new Government has continued to support and implement the funding scheme. The main aims of the childcare funding expansion include:
Helping to make childcare more affordable for working families;- Helping children to begin their early years education earlier (this has been shown to significantly increase outcomes in studies);
- Helping parents, particularly mothers, return to the workplace, or extend existing working hours, after having time off to look after a young child;
- Helping the economy as a whole by filling job vacancies.
Helping to make childcare more affordable for working families;The scheme will save eligible families significant sums. With eligible children aged 3 to 4 having been able to access the ’30 hours’ funding since September 2024, this September’s further expansion will mean that eligible children will be able to access free childcare hours from 9 months right up until school age. Fabulous!
“Eligible children will be able to access free childcare hours from 9 months right up until school age.”
Is Your Child Eligible for the ‘30 Hours’ Funded Childcare for Working Families?
The main eligibility requirements are that the child’s parent, and their spouse/partner, if applicable, are each earning:
- the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage (or Living Wage) for at least 16 hours per week over the next 3 months and;
- no more than £100,000 per annum (current tax year).
Other rules and caveats apply but the above represent the two key rules for eligibility. Learn more here.
How to Apply for Childcare Funding for Eligible Working Families
When to Apply
You can apply for funded childcare for eligible working families as soon as your child reaches the age of 23 weeks (that’s just over 5¼ months). If successful, they’ll be able to start using their free childcare hours the term after they reach the age of 9 months. Depending on when that occurs, they’ll be able to start accessing the funded childcare from either the 1st of September, the 1st of January, or the 1st of April, with application deadlines for each being the day before.
Please note that there are other rules concerning when you can apply if, for example, you’re returning to work following maternity/paternity leave and similar, or you are starting a new job. Learn more here.
Where to Apply
To access childcare funding for working families, you’ll need to apply for it via your Childcare Account on the Gov.uk website. You can use that same link to create a Childcare Account if you don’t already have one. Have your National Insurance (‘N.I.’) number, your Unique Taxpayer Reference (‘UTR’) if self-employed/applicable, and your child’s UK birth certificate reference number at the ready when you apply. Confirmation of your application’s success — or otherwise — is usually immediate but may take up to a week in some circumstances.
How to Access Your Free Childcare Hours
If your application for the ’30 Hours’ childcare funding is successful, you’ll receive a code to your Childcare Account. You’ll need to give the code to your chosen childcare provider along with your child’s date of birth and your own N.I. number. You will need to do so before the deadlines, which are explained in the information box near the beginning of this guide. So, as we said before, if you are applying for the September term, don’t delay — you must apply by the 31st of August or you will miss out on that entire term’s funding.
Is That Everything?
Not quite; you’ll need to reconfirm your details and eligibility every three months. You should do so via your Childcare Account. On success, a new code will then be provided via the account for you to pass on to your childcare provider.
Apply for a Childcare Place at Little Acorns Nursery
High-Quality Weekday Childcare in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, Central Lancashire
Little Acorns Nursery welcomes new applications for childcare places in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley. We’re a highly-regarded nursery with a Good Ofsted rating and support many different childcare funding schemes for eligible families. As well as serving local families from Clayton-le-Woods and Chorley, we also represent a convenient choice for those in nearby locations like Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland and Penwortham.
Get in touch today to explore a possible nursery place for your baby, toddler, or preschooler at Little Acorns Nursery. We’ll be happy to hear from you, show you around, and answer any questions. Get started via one of the following:
* The ’30 hours’ free childcare scheme usually covers 38 weeks of the year and a maximum of 1140 hours per year. Whether the free hours can be spread out a different way, for example using less than 30 hours per week but over more weeks of the year, will depend upon availability from your chosen childcare provider. Ask your provider about availability.
With September 2024 arriving, eligible children aged as young as 9 months can now access free childcare in England. The new childcare ‘hours’ are available where working families are eligible for the support and, in tandem, where local childcare providers are set up with appropriate staffing ratios and capacity. The good news, however, is that Little Acorns Nursery, in Clayton-le-Woods, supports the new scheme. It’s therefore with great pleasure that we’re now beginning to welcome children as young as just 9 months of age for free childcare hours at the Chorley setting.
From September 2024 (so already active), eligible children aged from 9 months to 3 years of age can access 570 hours and eligible children aged 3 and 4 can access 1140 hours of free childcare support per year. The free hours are usually taken over the course of 38 weeks (equating to 15 and 30 hours per week respectively). However, some childcare providers may allow the hours to be spread over more weeks of the year by reducing the number of hours per week. Speak directly to your specific childcare provider about the availability of this more flexible option.
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parents to return to the workplace sooner after the birth of their child if they so choose;
children aged 2 from eligible working families will be able to claim 570 hours of free childcare each year. This is typically taken as 15 hours of free childcare each week over 38 weeks, although exactly how it’s taken may be agreed otherwise between the family and the childcare provider.
Until now, 87% of those eligible to claim childcare support through Universal Credit were not doing so. One of the main reasons for this was that it’s geared towards low-income families yet required them to pay childcare fees in advance — and later claim them back. Paying in advance is not so easy when household income is low, as is typically the case for households that would otherwise be eligible. For this reason, another of the Chancellor’s initiatives announced in the Spring Budget 2023 is to roll out the following improvements:
The final childcare-related initiative in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget aims to fix another key problem for parents: how to juggle their own longer working hours with their child’s shorter school hours. When a child attends school, they often finish their school day several hours before their parent is finished at work, for example. There is therefore a childcare requirement to bridge the gap and this may be required both at the start and end of the child’s school day. In view of this, the Chancellor announced the piloting of a new Wraparound Pathfinder Scheme, which would fund childcare hours from 8 am until the start of the school morning and, later in the day, fund childcare for the mismatched afternoon hours up to 6 pm. The pilot will test the scheme to see how well it works. If successful, the Chancellor aims to roll it out to the whole of the UK from September 2024.
One of the first challenges when considering childcare for your little one is how to fund it. If you’re an affluent family, then great. However, if childcare costs will be a more significant hurdle to overcome, the good news is that there are lots of options available. Either way, it will help to be well-informed about the various childcare funding schemes on offer from the Government. There are quite a few of them and some are extremely generous and surprisingly easy to obtain. Today’s Quick Guide to Childcare Funding Options in England will give you an at-a-glance overview of what’s available, the key eligibility criteria and how to apply. Note, though, that they generally fund in-person childcare only from approved providers (like Little Acorns). Take a look at the many options …
You’ve no doubt heard of, or read about, childcare ‘vouchers’. They sound great, but what are they and how do you get them?
Tax-Free Childcare is a great scheme which, in contrast to childcare vouchers, is widely available to working families — even for those with relatively high earnings.
Certain 2-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours of free childcare each week, through another Government scheme. This one is to help primarily those families on benefits.
3 and 4-year-olds in England are very well catered for when it comes to free childcare funding. This is aimed to help them receive that all-important early years education and to help those parents wishing to return to the workplace.
Tax Credits specifically for childcare are only available to existing claimants under the scheme, through ‘Working Tax Credits’. New claimants should instead refer to the ‘Childcare Funding through Universal Credit’ section below.
For those who are eligible, this is quite a generous scheme that allows them to reclaim* as much as 85% of their childcare costs. The maximum available, however, is £646.35* each month for one child, or it’s £1108.04* for more than one.
This is a grant that does not need to be repaid and is in addition to any undergraduate Student Finance.
Learner Support is a type of financial support designed for students who are suffering financial hardship. It can be used to fund childcare for eligible students who are also parents.
Care to Learn may suit if you are a parent who is not yet 20 and are studying on a publicly-funded course, although see caveats below.
Each year, around 1 million families miss out on thousands of pounds in free childcare funding — despite being eligible through the Government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme. Are you one of them?
Families, including single parent families, are usually eligible for tax-free childcare scheme if they meet the following criteria:
The Tax-Free Childcare contribution from the Government can only be used to pay for childcare provided by approved childcare providers that have signed up to the scheme. Such providers must be registered with either the Early Years Register, the Childcare Register or Ofsted in order to be approved. However, they can be nurseries, childminders, nannies, play schemes or even after school clubs. Little Acorns Nursery is, of course, such an approved childcare provider and would be happy to assist families to make the most of this very useful, free childcare funding opportunity.
Children living in England are very fortunate to have their early years childcare supported financially by a variety of Government funding schemes. The 3 most important, popular and widely-available schemes are:
Let’s look at each of the schemes …
Taking the above scheme a step further, eligible families are able to top up the standard 15 hours per week with an additional 15 hours of free childcare in specific circumstances. In effect, this can double the child’s free childcare hours from the standard 570 hours to 1140 per annum. These are usually taken as 30 hours per week over 38 weeks although, again, some childcare settings may be able to be flexible and to spread the hours out in a different way.
Under certain circumstances, children aged just two can have some of their childcare funded by the Government too. However, it’s much more restrictive for this age group. If successful, though, the Government will fund up to 570 hours of childcare for a two-year-old over the course of a year — that’s significant and could really help mothers or stay-at-home fathers get back to work sooner. As with the 3 & 4-year-olds, the 570 hours is usually taken as 15 hours per week over the course of 38 weeks, but some parents may wish to ask their childcare provider if it’s possible to spread it out in a different way.
