Free Childcare Hours Extended

The UK’s Childcare Voucher Scheme was replaced by Tax-Free Childcare in October 2018. Although the voucher scheme is still in use, it was closed to new applicants at that time.

From 1^st September 2025, free childcare has been extended from 15 to 30 hours per week for children aged nine months to three years old for 38 weeks of the year. If you take less than 30 hours per week, you may be able to get free childcare for more than 38 weeks. Potentially this can save parents up to £7,500 per year.

Working parents need to register through a personal Government Gateway account providing the following information:

• NI number
• UTR number (if self-employed)
• Date you started, or are about to start, work

Parents can apply for childcare allowance once the child has reached 23 weeks old, although the child cannot be placed in care until it has reached nine months. Claimants will receive an 11-digit access code and must provide the account details to their chosen childcare provider.

Parents must access their on-line account every three months to confirm their details are up to date in order to retain access to free childcare. If the three-month deadline is missed, parents may need to reapply for their 11-digit code to be reactivated.

Children aged three to four in England have 15 hours of government funded early education. This is claimed directly by the childcare provider, so, other than providing evidence in the form of a child’s birth certificate, the parents need take no action to claim this.