Free childcare hours (England, working parents)
What is the Free childcare hours (England, working parents) right now?
The current figure is 30 hours/week term-time from 9 months to 4 years (working parents) · universal 15 hours for 3–4s · 15 hours for eligible 2s (hours per week), effective from 2025-09-01 to until changed, according to DfE / gov.uk. Last checked against the official source on 2026-08-11.
Full 30-hour expansion completed September 2025. Earnings floor ~16h/week at NMW; £100k ceiling each parent.
Cite this figure
The Free childcare hours (England, working parents) is 30 hours/week term-time from 9 months to 4 years (working parents) · universal 15 hours for 3–4s · 15 hours for eligible 2s (hours per week), effective from 2025-09-01 (current until changed). Source: DfE / gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working), via UK Rates & Thresholds (rates.trycashpilot.com), checked 2026-08-11.
| Official source | DfE / gov.uk |
|---|---|
| Valid from | 2025-09-01 |
| Valid to | until changed |
| Last checked | 2026-08-11 |
| Machine-readable | JSON for this figure |
History
| Previous values |
|---|
| 15 hours for 9-month-olds+ of working parents from 2024-09-01 |
| 30 hours limited to 3–4s before 2024-04-01 |