What childcare funding options are available to you?

Making high quality childcare more accessible

At Partou, we believe that everybody should be able to access high-quality childcare. That’s why we work hard to ensure that our families receive the support they need when it comes to paying their fees.

Since 2010, the Department for Education has provided funded childcare to eligible families throughout England. As of 1st September, more families than ever before will be able to access funded childcare support.

Funding typically covers 15 or 30 hours per week for the 38 term weeks of the year across a maximum of 10 hours a day which will be applied in different ways depending how many weeks of the year your child is in childcare:

Children who have term-time only childcare places will receive funding 15/30 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year.
Children who are in year-round childcare will receive “stretched” funding. This means that their 15/30 hours over 38 weeks will be stretched over 51/52 weeks (dependent on how many weeks the nursery is open annually)

Government funded hours cover the cost of care only and do not cover meals, snacks, drinks and consumables such as nappies, wipes, hygiene essentials and suncream. We ask parents in receipt of government funded hours to contribute to these and you can read more about the meals and snacks, consumables and extras fees.

Below, you’ll find key information on the different types of government support you may be entitled to during your time with us as well as links to articles that explain how they help to cover costs whilst answering questions regarding eligibility criteria.

Working Family Funded Childcare: Claim up to 30 hours of funding per week

From 1st September 2025, many working families with children aged 9 months to 4 years will be entitled to 30 hours of funded childcare support until they start school.

This funding is applied as 30 hours for the 38 term weeks of the year across a maximum of 10 hours a day. Essentially this equates to 1,140 hours of funded childcare per academic school year (1st September – 31st August) which can be accessed on a term time only basis or all year-round to suit your family’s needs.

All Partou nurseries are proud to offer funded childcare places. We recognise that working families have varying requirements; some need year-round childcare rather than term time only and some need longer days than the 10 hours of funding per day provided by the Local Authority so we want to help families access childcare and funding to suit their needs.

We want to help you access the sessions you require and make funding as transparent as possible. This means that your 1,140 hours of Working Family Funded Childcare can be accessed in a few different ways:

Attendance Type	How Funding is Calculated	Hours Per Week/Year
Term Time Only over 38 weeks	1,140 ÷ 38 weeks	30 per week
Year-round stretched over 51 weeks	1,140 ÷ 51 weeks	22.35 per week
Year-round stretched over 52 weeks	1,140 ÷ 52 weeks	21.92 per week

Please note whether your funding is stretched over 51 or 52 weeks will be determined by how many weeks of the year your nursery is open for.

You will need to apply via your Online Childcare Account to get an Eligibility Code to pass to your Partou Nursery using the funded code online form.

Key dates, how to apply and eligibility criteria

Universal 15 Hours Funded Childcare for all 3-4 Year Olds

All 3-4 year olds are entitled to 15 funded hours childcare a week for 38 term weeks of the year regardless of family income or circumstances and benefit status. This equates to 570 funded weeks of childcare per year at a maximum of 10 hours per day as applied by the Local Authority.

These 570 weeks can be accessed in different ways to suit your family’s requirements:

Attendance Type	How Funding is Calculated	Hours Per Week
Term Time Only	570 ÷ 38 term weeks	15 per week
Year-round stretched over 51 weeks	570 ÷ 51 weeks	11.17 per week
Year-round stretched over 52 weeks	570 ÷ 52 weeks	10.96 per week

Please note whether your funding is stretched over 51 or 52 weeks will be determined by how many weeks of the year your nursery is open for.

Key dates and how to access funding

Additional Government Childcare Support

There is additional government support towards childcare for 2 years olds in England across a range of circumstances including:

Families accessing benefits such as Universal Credit and Income Support

Children receiving Disability Living Allowance or with Special Education Needs (SEND)

Children with a kinship or guardianship order

Other criteria and terms apply, for more information on eligibility please check:

https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds-claim-benefits

https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Tax-Free Childcare: Save 20% on the fees you pay

Families at Partou can also make use of the government’s Tax-Free childcare scheme.

Available to most working families, the initiative allows you to pay fees directly through an online childcare account. For every £8 paid through the account, the government contribute a further £2 – saving you 20% of your total costs – up to a maximum of £500 every three months.

You can use Tax-Free Childcare alongside some of the other government childcare support initiatives such as the Working Family 30 Hours Funded Childcare. This means that you receive an additional 20% towards the cost of your invoice after the funding has been applied.

Once your child leaves their Partou Nursery and starts their school journey, like many other families you may need to use wraparound care before and after school. Many providers accept payments from the Tax-Free Childcare Scheme so you can access the benefits of this beyond your child’s nursery years.

Apply now for Tax-Free Childcare

Find a nursery

Find out more

Search for a nursery

Search our nurseries by name, town, city or postcode.