Childcare changes from September 2025

In September 2025, the UK government is expanding free childcare for working parents to include children aged 9 months and older, offering up to 30 hours per week. 

Currently, 30 hours of free childcare are available for eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds, and 15 hours for those with children aged 9 months to 3 years. 

This expansion means that by September 2025, most working families with children under 5 will be eligible for 30 hours of free childcare. 

From September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access up to 30 hours of funded childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year, starting from the term after their child turns 9 months old until they begin school.

All eligible working parents can apply for a valid code by visiting www.childcarechoices.gov.uk  – parents will need this code to access the funded 30 hours.

 Already using 15 hours childcare for working families? You don’t need to reapply for a new code. Simply continue to reconfirm your details every 3 months on your GOV.UK account and your existing code will update automatically to enable you to take up 30 hours from September.