Early years funding guide

Early years funding

Early Years Funding is a nationwide initiative managed by local authorities. It provides families with a set number of funded childcare hours with an Ofsted-registered provider. The number of hours available depends on a child’s age and the family’s circumstances (for example, working parent status or household income).


Childcare providers can offer Early Years Funding provided they adhere to the Department for Education (DfE) statutory guidance and the local authority’s provider agreement. The national delivery requirements include:


  • Funded childcare cannot exceed 10 hours in a single day.
  • Funded childcare must be delivered between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
  • A child may access funded childcare at a maximum of two providers in one day.

 Stretched funding

We know that understanding childcare funding can sometimes feel complicated — but we’re here to help.


In England, there are two main government-funded childcare programmes. In simple terms, you may be entitled to either 15 or 30 funded hours per week, depending on your family’s circumstances.


From September 2025, we will be stretching these hours across the year. How this works may vary slightly between our nurseries, as some Local Authorities have their own requirements.


  • If you are eligible for 15 hours of funding, you can access up to 570 hours per year, which equates to 11.4 funded hours per week over 50 weeks.
  • If you are eligible for 30 hours of funding, you can access up to 1,140 hours per year, which equates to 22.8 funded hours per week over 50 weeks.



Please note that for families joining New Beginnings from the Spring and Summer 2026 terms, the stretched offer will be slightly different. For full details, please refer to our Funding Policy.

Funding guide

There are several government funding options available to help parents with the cost of childcare. While these schemes don’t make childcare completely free, they can significantly reduce your overall costs.

Government-funded childcare is available for parents with children aged between 9 months and 4 years, depending on eligibility.


For more details on how we apply and structure funding at New Beginnings, please refer to our Understanding Fees and Funding Guide.

Funding Policy