What are the free hours?
Hours of nursery the government pays for instead of you. If you both work, you get up to 30 a week from the term after your baby turns 9 months. Every child gets 15 a week from the term after they turn 3, whether you work or not. They only ever start on 1 January, 1 April or 1 September, never mid-term.
Nurseries and the government call them "funded hours" or "the entitlement". They must be free, but the nursery can still charge for lunch and nappies on those hours.
On forms and nursery websites: Funded hours
Why do people keep saying 38 weeks?
The free hours are for school term time only: three terms, 38 weeks a year. The other 14 weeks are school holidays, and there are no free hours for those.
For free hours, the terms start on 1 January, 1 April and 1 September, and those are the only days free hours can ever start. Yours begin on the first of those dates after your child reaches the right age, as long as you have your code before then. Get the code a day late and you wait a whole term.
On forms and nursery websites: Term time
I was promised 30 hours. Why does the nursery say 22?
Because your child goes all year, not just in term time. The nursery takes your 30 hours a week for 38 weeks and spreads them over about 51 weeks instead, so each week has about 22 free hours. The total is the same, it's just shared out more thinly.
15 hours stretched is about 11 a week. Most all-year nurseries do this automatically. A few let you choose.
On forms and nursery websites: Stretched hours
Why is this pre-school so much cheaper?
Partly because it shuts in the school holidays, like most pre-schools. You get the full free hours each term week, but for 14 weeks a year you'll need other childcare, and that cost isn't in its price.
On forms and nursery websites: Term time only
Do I still pay if we go on holiday?
Usually yes. At an all-year nursery you can take your child out, but most still charge for the place while you're away, and the free hours for that week are lost. You can't save them up.
Every nursery has its own holiday rules, so ask before you sign up.
On forms and nursery websites: Taking a holiday
If the hours are free, what's this charge for?
Lunch, snacks, nappies, sun cream and trips. The nursery can charge for these on free hours, as long as you could say no and bring your own instead. Most nurseries charge £5 to £15 a day.
The rule is that the charge must be optional and shown separately on your bill. If a nursery says you have to pay it, you can question that.
On forms and nursery websites: Optional extras
Is there any help with the part I pay?
Yes, if you both work. You pay your nursery through a government account, and for every £8 you put in, the government adds £2. That's a fifth off, up to £2,000 a year per child.
It's called Tax-Free Childcare and you set it up on GOV.UK. You'll usually qualify if each parent earns about £204 a week or more (parental leave counts), neither expects over £100,000, and you don't get Universal Credit. It's a separate application from your free hours.
On forms and nursery websites: Tax-Free Childcare
What counts as working?
Each parent expects to earn at least about £204 a week over the next 3 months. That's 16 hours a week at the minimum wage if you're over 21. If there are two of you, you both need to.
Maternity, paternity and shared parental leave count as working. If you're self-employed and in your first year, the earnings rule doesn't apply yet. The exact figure is £2,643.68 over 3 months.
On forms and nursery websites: Working, for funding
One of us earns over £100,000. Does that matter?
Yes. If either parent expects to earn over £100,000 this tax year, you lose the working-parent free hours and the government top-up. It's each parent on their own, not added together: two parents on £99,000 each still qualify, one on £101,000 doesn't. You'd still get 15 hours a week from age 3.
It's measured on "adjusted net income", which is roughly your taxable pay minus pension contributions and Gift Aid. Paying more into a pension can bring you back under the limit.
On forms and nursery websites: The £100,000 limit
I get Universal Credit. What do I get?
Universal Credit can pay back up to 85% of what you pay the nursery, which is often worth more than the top-up for working parents. You can't have both, so if you get Universal Credit, use that.
Some families on Universal Credit also get 15 free hours from age 2. Your council calls this "Together for 2s" or the "2-year-old offer".
On forms and nursery websites: Universal Credit and childcare
Why do I have to keep confirming?
Every 3 months the government asks you to sign in and confirm you still qualify. If you forget, your free hours stop until you do. Put the dates in your calendar, or let us remind you.
Your free-hours code and your Tax-Free Childcare account are confirmed separately, so there are two sets of dates.
On forms and nursery websites: Reconfirming