Funded childcare can be really complicated for new parents, figuring out nursery for the first time. Here, we lay it all out so you know exactly what you get and how it works.
Funded childcare is one of the best supports available to parents, especially those who both work and would otherwise struggle to balance work and family life. As a chain of nurseries in the North West, we know how much freedom childcare gives parents, and how significantly it can reduce stress on mums and dads who are doing their best.
But it’s really easy to get lost in the wording of the 15 and 30-hour funded childcare available through the government. Many parents hear “15 hours” or “30 hours” and assume that means a completely free nursery place every week of the year. In reality, both schemes work to a set number of funded hours across the year, and what you actually pay depends on how your nursery applies those hours, whether you use extra sessions, and whether optional extras are added.
Put plainly, all 3- and 4-year-olds in England are eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare per week. For working parents, children aged 9 months to 4 years are eligible for 30 hours per week.
But what’s included in this childcare? Are meals and nappies included? What about trips, specialised tuition or additional support? Suncream?
Parents want the practical vision: what's included, how the hours are used, whether they can be stretched, and what the monthly nursery bill might still look like. We’re a nursery provider that supports funded placements and can deliver the details.
Funded childcare makes everyday life so much more manageable for parents. The 15- and 30-hour schemes help parents return to work, increase their working hours to earn more money, reduce the pressure of childcare bills, and overall build realistic weekly routines for everyone involved.
Whether you’re working part-time, easing back in after parental leave, or need reliable childcare for a part of the week to balance responsibilities, 15 hours can make a world of difference. For working parents, 30 hours can be the difference between making a budget work or not.
For some parents, the 15-hour offer is enough to cover a few regular sessions each week. That can make a big difference if a parent works part-time, works shifts, is easing back into work after parental leave, or simply needs reliable childcare for a set part of the week.
A parent might use funded hours to cover school-style term-time sessions, or to reduce the cost of longer nursery days while they work a more typical full-time schedule. Real family life does not always fit neatly into school terms or short weekly blocks. Many parents work year-round, not just for 38 weeks. Some work compressed hours, rotating shifts or irregular days. Others need childcare support across more months of the year so they can budget more consistently.
This is why parents often look beyond the headline of “15 hours a week” or “30 hours a week” at the annual potential of the funding. ‘Stretched’ funding becomes more appealing because it’s more manageable. Instead of using the full entitlement only during term time, it can be spread across more weeks. The total number of funded hours stays the same, but using them over a longer period can make childcare easier to fit into normal working life.
So, how does 30 hours of free childcare work? Because so many parents want to spread the hours throughout the year, it’s easier to think in annual funded hours, not just weekly labels.
That means nursery funding is not usually the same as a full-time, year-round place. Instead, your nursery applies the funded hours against your booked sessions. If you use more hours than your entitlement covers, you pay the difference. That is why two families, both receiving funded childcare, can still end up with very different invoices.
Here’s what the difference between term time and stretched hours looks like.
In a standard term time, funded hours are used over 38 weeks of the year. A child receiving the full offer might get up to 30 funded hours a week during those term-time weeks.
Used term-time only, that works out as:
This option can suit families whose childcare needs follow school-style term dates. But many working parents need nursery care for more than 38 weeks a year, so if they use childcare during holidays or all year round, they will usually need to pay for those extra weeks themselves.
The total number of annual hours stays the same, but the nursery spreads them across more weeks. So instead of taking the full 15 or 30 hours during term time only, parents take fewer funded hours each week across a longer part of the year.
For example:
So the funded amount does not increase. Parents are simply using the same 570 or 1,140 hours in a different pattern. If a parent needs more childcare than the funded hours cover, they will usually need to pay the difference. For example:
Most parents choose to stretch the funded childcare hours because it’s a more affordable option month to month. But not every provider offers the same stretched model, so it’s always worth checking in advance to confirm the nursery you're choosing offers this option. A nursery may offer term-time only, a stretched option, or a blended approach, depending on availability and session structure. Ask about funded options when considering nursery places.
You can easily apply for a code for funded childcare. Then you need to pass this on to your chosen provider.
Parents often ask how much is the 30 hours free childcare worth, but there is no single UK-wide standard cost because the funding goes to the provider through the local authority, and rates vary. The value for parents is the number of paid hours removed from their invoice.
The easiest way to think about it is this:
MoneyHelper’s 2026 average childcare costs show how much of a difference funded childcare can make in England. For 50 hours of nursery childcare per week, the average nursery cost in England is £148.82 for a child under two and £140.72 for a two-year-old, with working parent entitlements already taken into account. In other words, these are not the full pre-funding nursery fees. They are the average remaining costs after eligible funded childcare has already been factored in.
| Under two-year-old | Two and above | |
| Total cost (full-time) | £148.82 | £140.72 |
| Total cost (part-time) | Free under the funded hours scheme | Free under the funded hours scheme |
That shows the real value of the scheme: not that all childcare becomes free, but that a large share of the weekly cost may be absorbed by the funded entitlement. This is helpful in working out nursery fees with the 15 or 30 hours, but ultimately, you should ask providers directly for their specific price list.
Nuuri’s childcare cost calculator is a great tool for estimating potential costs in your area.
*These figures are illustrative only. In practice, funded childcare is usually applied as an annual entitlement rather than a straight weekly discount, and actual nursery bills may still include charges for additional hours, meals, nappies or other extras.
Being fully prepared to financially support childcare is important, so you need a complete understanding of what you have to pay for and what gets covered within your funded hours. This can be a significant factor in choosing a nursery, which may or may not still charge for things like:
The April 2026 statutory guidance lays out some clear rules around mandatory charges attached to funded hours, which protect parents from hidden costs:
If you are comparing funded places to choose a nursery in the North West, MiChild offers inspiring, affordable childcare in safe and secure settings across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire. Click through to read more about funding, explore MiChild locations, view settings such as Echoes Nursery, Sunbeams Nursery and Little Thornton Nursery, or contact MiChild to ask how 15 and 30 funded hours are applied at your preferred nursery.
