Working Family Childcare Funding Explained

August 11th, 2025

From 1st September, more families than ever will be eligible for the government’s expanded “30 hours free childcare” scheme. Our guide explains what working family childcare funding is, who qualifies, how it’s applied, and the steps you need to take to claim it. Whether you need term-time or year-round care, we break down the hours, application deadlines, and key tips to ensure you don’t miss out.

Making sense of the 30 hours Working Family Childcare Funding

As of 1^st September, working family childcare funding (sometimes known as the “30 hours free childcare”) is expanding and more families than ever before will be eligible. This is great news for working families looking to access quality childcare in a more affordable way. At Partou, we understand that funding can be a complex subject and we want to make it as straight forward and transparent as possible so let’s take a look at; how the funding works and how to access it to help you benefit from the expansion.

What is working family childcare funding?

Funded childcare aims to provide financial support for eligible families accessing childcare at an OFSTED registered setting. This is a government incentive which is fulfilled by the Local Authority that your nursery is part of.

From 1^st September, eligible working families are entitled to 30 hours funded childcare per week for children aged 9 months-4 years right up until they start school.

Childcare funding covers the cost of care only which includes; trained, qualified team members taking care of your child, regular updates about your child and their progress at nursery, a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities tailored to the needs of your child, and use of the nursery building facilities.

Working family childcare funding does not cover the cost of items such as meals and snacks, consumables and extras which are an important part of nursery life and children’s development. To ensure we can continue to invest in and develop our nurseries to better serve our families, we ask parents in receipt of government funded hours to contribute to the meals and consumables fee.

Working family childcare funding eligibility criteria

You must live in England
You and your partner earn at least £183 per week (equivalent to 16 hours on National Minimum Wage)
You or your partner must not earn over £100,000 per annum adjusted net income (after tax)

If you are currently on sick or parental leave, or you are in receipt of benefits, you may still be eligible for the 30 hours funded childcare. To confirm eligibility, you can check the full working childcare funding eligibility criteria on the Government website.

How the working family childcare funding is applied

The 30 hours “free” childcare funding is claimed by nurseries from the relevant Local Authority and is applied as 30 hours for the 38 term weeks of the year across a maximum of 10 hours a day. It can be helpful to think about this as 1,140 hours of funded childcare per academic school year (1^st September – 31^st August.) These hours can be distributed to suit the individual needs of your family.

If your child attends nursery all year round rather than on a term time only basis, your 30 hours funding can be “stretched” over 51 or 52 weeks of the year depending how many weeks your nursery is open. This means that the 30 hours per week will change depending on how many weeks it is “stretched” across.

This table shows how stretched funding is calculated:

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

How to get the 30 hours “free” childcare

Funding is accessed by obtaining an Eligibility Code from your Online Childcare Account, sharing this with your nursery and then completing a Free Early Years Entitlement (FEEE) Parental Declaration form which is necessary for the Local Authority to release your child’s funding to your chosen nursery. At Partou, the FEEE Parental Declaration is distributed via Funding Loop which is a platform for sending and collating these forms so that funding can be obtained for your child’s nursery place.

How to apply for the 30 hours funded childcare

Step 1. To apply you’ll need a Government Childcare Account log in which you can get or sign into here: Sign in to your childcare account – GOV.UK. If this is the first time you access this you will need to provide some supporting documents and information such as your National Insurance Number, Unique Taxpayer Reference if you’re self-employed and the UK birth certificate reference number of the children you are applying for.

Step 2. Apply within the Online Childcare Account for your funded hours. Once you have applied, you will receive an 11-digit eligibility code. If your child attends a Partou Nursery, please pass this code to them using this link: https://partou.co.uk/your-funding-code Your Nursery Management Team will then check this code and add it to your account.

Step 3. Once this has been done you will receive a Free Early Years Entitlement (FEEE) Parental Declaration form which Partou send via Funding Loop to check and sign. This is usually in the month before the new term starts so either August, December or March however this can vary depending on when we receive your code. Please return the FEEE Parental Declaration Form as quickly as possible so that the funding can be applied, and your nursery can claim this from the Local Authority.

Step 4. Your funding will be applied to your invoice.

Please remember you’ll need to reconfirm your working family eligibility code every three months. Your nursery may remind you when this is due, and you will see your renewal period dates in your Online Childcare Account, however the responsibility for renewal lies with families. We’d recommend putting a reminder in your calendar for the first date of the renewal period to avoid missing the deadline and potentially losing your funding.

Deadlines for applying for childcare funding

The deadline for childcare funding applications is the day before the new academic term begins however, as you can see there are a few steps to the process, so we encourage families to apply 6 weeks earlier.

When you apply for funding could affect the amount of funding you receive. For example, if you apply mid-term then this may change the number of funded hours you receive across the term and some Local Authorities do not facilitate mid-term starts. If your child will be attending a Partou nursery, our team will be happy to explain the amount of funding you are eligible for.

Period your child turns 9 months	Term you can access 30 funded hours childcare from	Recommended Application Period
1^st January to 31^st March	Term starting on or after 1^st April	15^th January – 28^th February
1^st April – 31^st August	Term starting on or after 1^st September	15^th June – 31^st July
1^st September to 31^st December	Term starting on or after 1^st January	15^th October -30^th November

Working Family Childcare Funding Checklist

Here is a handy list of everything you need to do to make sure you benefit from the 30 hours funded childcare for working families:

Check eligibility here: Eligibility | Childcare Choices
Access your Online Childcare Account:
- Create your Online Childcare Account for the first time if this is a new eligibility code application: https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-childcare-account
- Sign into your Online Childcare Account to manage an existing code/reconfirmation: https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-childcare-account
Apply for your first Eligibility code: https://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working/apply-for-free-childcare-if-youre-working
Provide code to nursery here: Your Funding Code – Partou
Complete Free Early Years Entitlement (FEEE) Parental Declaration Funding Loop paperwork once received via email from funding@mail.fundingloop.co.uk and return as quickly as possible.

Working Family Childcare Funding FAQs

What happens if I miss the deadline to get the eligibility code?

The eligibility code is needed to claim funding for the term after application. This means if you have missed the deadline, you will not be able to receive funding for hours until the next term unfortunately. If you miss the 30 funded hours deadline and your child is aged 3-4 years, you will still receive the universal 15 hours funded childcare that applies to all children aged 3-4 and will only be charged for childcare above the 15 funded hours.

Can I split the funding over different childcare providers?

You can split your funding over two OFSTED registered sites in any one day. It is important to let each childcare provider know that you are doing this so that they can claim the correct funding from the Local Authority for the funded hours accessed at each setting.

Can I switch between term-time and stretched funding?

To ensure that we can plan for correct staff to child ratios and provide a consistent and high level of care, we encourage parents to choose either stretched OR term-time funding. If you do need to change, we politely ask that this is done for the start of a new term rather than mid-term and with a minimum of 6 weeks’ notice as per our terms and conditions.

If funding is applied over school year terms, how does the childcare funding work if my child joins nursery mid-way through a term?

The funding year runs Autumn to August and term dates are set by Local Authorities and these vary. If you join the nursery midway through a term, the number of funded weeks left in the term will impact how your funding is applied or if you are eligible to receive this.

Here is an example of how that could work:

	Term
	Autumn (Sept – Dec)	Spring (Jan-March)	Summer (April-Aug)
Number of funding weeks available per the Local Authority	14	11	13
30 hours per week stretched and delivered weekly
Child is 9 months before the start of the Autumn Term	38 weeks x 30 hours = 1,140 hours per year, divided by 51 weeks = 22.35 funded hours per week.
Child is 9 months after the start of the Autumn Term but before the start of the Spring Term	Not Eligible	24 weeks x 30 hours = 720 hours, divided by 35 weeks = 20.57 funded hours per week. This consists of the Spring and Summer terms (i.e. until the end of the Academic Year) divided by 35 weeks in the Jan – Aug period.
Child is 9 months after the start of the Spring term but before the start of the Summer Term	Not Eligible	Not Eligible	13 weeks x 30 hours = 390 hours, Divided by 22 weeks in the April – Aug period = 17.73 funded hours per week.

I don’t need 30 hours a week, can I put the hours I don’t spend towards the meals and snacks and consumables charges?

As funded hours are provided by the Local Authority and are purely for care provided, we are unfortunately unable to transfer this funding to items such as meals and snacks, consumables or extras. Similarly, we are unable to refund any unused hours or transfer them to a different invoice period.

How soon should I reserve my child’s nursery place?

Nursery places are highly competitive due to family’s diverse requirements and increased accessibility through the funding now available. We recommend that you reserve your child’s nursery space as soon as possible. You can find your closest Partou nursery here Find a Nursery Near You | Childcare Nearby | Partou and enquire online or call with any questions you may have.

We’re here to help with your family’s childcare journey

Whether you’re considering a nursery place for the first time or trying to understand your childcare funding options at a different stage of your child’s journey, Partou are able to provide the funding support you need.

If you’re already enrolled at one of our nurseries, we advise speaking to your nursery manager as first point of call. You can find their contact details on your local nursery page.

If you’re new to Partou, then our Family Care Team are the go-to support line. Simply send us an email by clicking here, and one of our advisors will be in touch to answer any questions and help you discover more about the options available to you.

Find your Partou Nursery

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