In short
The government pays for up to 6 hours of your child’s day with us. You pay nothing for those hours. Any time outside those 6 hours is charged at our private rate of £7.02 per hour.
| Your child’s day | Funded hours (free) | Extra hours you pay for | Cost per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9am to 3pm (6 hours) | 6 | 0 | £0.00 |
| 8am to 4pm (8 hours) | 6 | 2 | £14.04 |
Full worked examples for different weekly patterns are further down.
About the scheme
Funded hours are a government scheme in England that pays nurseries to give young children free early education. The money comes from the Department for Education, through your local council, straight to us. You never handle it.
The scheme has grown a lot over the years:
- For many years: all 3 and 4 year olds could get 15 free hours a week.
- From September 2025: working parents could get 30 hours a week from the term after their child turns 9 months old, right up to school age (Department for Education).
The government says this can save a family around £8,000 a year for each child (Best Start in Life).
You will often hear it called "free childcare". We say "funded hours" because the government pays for those hours, rather than the nursery giving them away.
Who can get funded hours
Most working families with a child aged 9 months to 4 years can get 30 funded hours a week, for 38 weeks of the year. Families who do not qualify for 30 hours may still get 15.
| Child’s age | Who qualifies | Funded hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| 9 months to 4 years | Working parents (see rules below) | 30 |
| 2 years | Families who get extra support, such as some Universal Credit claimants | 15 (or 30 if also working parents) |
| 3 and 4 years | Every child, whatever the parents do | 15 |
To get 30 hours as working parents, you (and your partner, if you have one) must each:
- expect to earn at least the same as 16 hours a week at minimum wage (about £203 a week if you are over 21)
- earn less than £100,000 a year
- have a National Insurance number
You can still qualify if you are on maternity, paternity, sick or annual leave. You can also qualify if one parent works and the other gets certain benefits, such as Carer’s Allowance. Full rules are on GOV.UK: check if you’re eligible.
How funded hours work at our nursery
We use your funded hours first, up to 6 hours each day. You only pay for time outside those funded hours.
- Up to 6 funded hours a day. 30 funded hours spread over 5 days is 6 hours a day. A day of 9am to 3pm is fully covered.
- Extra hours cost £7.02 each. Arrive earlier or stay later, and those extra hours are charged at our private rate.
- Funded hours run in term time. The government funds 38 weeks a year, which matches school term weeks.
- Funded hours cost you nothing. Nurseries are not allowed to charge a "top-up" on funded hours. You will never pay part of the price for an hour the government has paid for.
The simple way to work out your weekly bill:
Worked examples
A child with 30 funded hours who does 9am to 3pm, 5 days a week, costs nothing in term time. Every extra hour adds £7.02.
Example 1: the 6-hour day
Lily comes 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. Her family gets 30 funded hours.
- Hours each day: 6. All 6 are funded.
- Hours each week: 30. All 30 are funded.
- Lily’s family pays £0.00 a week.
Example 2: two extra hours a day
Noah comes 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. His family gets 30 funded hours.
- Hours each day: 8. Six are funded, so 2 are extra.
- Cost each day: 2 × £7.02 = £14.04.
- Cost each week: 5 × £14.04 = £70.20.
More patterns
| Days and times | Funded hours a week | Hours booked a week | Extra hours you pay for | Cost per week | Cost over 38 term weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon to Fri, 9am to 3pm | 30 | 30 | 0 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Mon to Fri, 8am to 3pm | 30 | 35 | 5 | £35.10 | £1,333.80 |
| Mon to Fri, 8am to 4pm | 30 | 40 | 10 | £70.20 | £2,667.60 |
| Mon to Fri, 8am to 6pm | 30 | 50 | 20 | £140.40 | £5,335.20 |
| 3 days, 8am to 4pm | 30 | 24 | 6 | £42.12 | £1,600.56 |
| 5 mornings, 9am to 12pm | 15 | 15 | 0 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| 3 days, 9am to 3pm | 15 | 18 | 3 | £21.06 | £800.28 |
Two things to notice:
- Coming fewer days means using fewer funded hours. In the "3 days, 8am to 4pm" row, only 18 of the 30 funded hours are used (6 a day for 3 days). The other 12 hours are not used here.
- With 15 funded hours, the free time runs out sooner. In the last row, 15 of the 18 hours are funded and the last 3 are paid.
What funding does and does not cover
Funding pays for your child’s care and learning during the funded hours. It does not pay for extras (GOV.UK).
| Covered by funding | Not covered by funding |
|---|---|
| Care and early education during funded hours | Any hours on top of your funded hours |
| Our Montessori learning time | Meals and snacks |
| Nappies, wipes and sun cream | |
| Extra activities and trips |
Extras like meals and nappies are always optional. If you would rather not pay for them, you can bring your own food or nappies instead. Your child keeps their funded place either way.
Open question for the nursery: add our current prices for meals and any other extras here.
How to apply
Apply online through GOV.UK, get a code, and give that code to us before the term starts.
- Apply online at GOV.UK: apply for free childcare. You can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old.
- Get your 11-digit code. You will get this once your application is approved.
- Give us your code, along with your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth. We check it with the council.
- Reconfirm every 3 months. Sign in to your childcare account and confirm your details are still the same. If you forget, you can lose your funded hours.
Apply by these dates to get funded hours from the start of each term (GOV.UK):
| Funded hours start | Apply by |
|---|---|
| 1 January | 31 December |
| 1 April | 31 March |
| 1 September | 31 August |
If you miss a deadline, your funded hours usually start the following term instead.
Common questions
If my child only comes during funded hours, do I pay anything?
No. You pay £0 for those hours. The only costs are optional extras, such as meals, which you can choose to provide yourself.
What about school holidays?
Funding covers 38 term-time weeks a year. If your child comes to us in the holidays, those hours are charged at £7.02 an hour.
Can I get help paying for the extra hours?
Yes. With Tax-Free Childcare, the government adds £2 for every £8 you pay, up to £2,000 a year for each child. For Noah in Example 2, a £70.20 weekly bill would cost his family £56.16, with the government paying the other £14.04.
My child has 30 funded hours but only comes 3 days. Can I use all 30?
We fund up to 6 hours a day, so 3 days uses 18 funded hours. Coming on more days lets you use more of your 30 hours.
Who do I ask if I’m not sure?
Speak to the nursery office. We are happy to work out your weekly bill with you.