Early years funding guide
Introduction
Early Years Funding is a nationwide initiative, managed by local authorities, that provides funded childcare hours with an Ofsted-registered provider. The number of funded hours available varies based on the child’s age and the family’s circumstances. Childcare providers have the flexibility to offer Early Years Funding, provided they adhere to the following guidelines:
- Funded childcare cannot exceed 10 hours in a single day.
- Funded childcare must be utilised between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- Funded childcare can be accessed at a maximum of two childcare locations in one day.
At New Beginnings families are able to maximise their funded childcare by using up to 10 hours of funding a day before purchasing additional hours and without any artificial break in the day.
As an all-year-round childcare provider, we will stretch the Early Years Funding across 50 weeks instead of limiting it to 38 weeks of term time.
Stretched funding
Understanding childcare funding can be challenging, but the good news is that we’re here to help. In England, there are two government funding programme. In simple terms, you can make the most of either 15 or 30 funded hours per week, depending on your circumstances. From September 2025, we will ‘stretch’ these hours and how that works varies between our nurseries, as some Local Authorities have their own requirements regarding this. When you are eligible for 15 hours, you will be able to access up to 570 hours or 11.4 hours per week for 50 weeks of the year. If you are eligible for 30 hours, you can access up to 1140 hours or 22.8 funded hours per week, across 50 weeks. Please note that for families joining New Beginnings from the Spring and Summer 2026 terms the stretch offer will be slightly different. See the funding policy for more information.
Funding guide
There are numerous government funding options available to assist parents with childcare costs. While this doesn’t mean childcare will be completely free, your costs may be significantly lower than anticipated. Several government-funded childcare programs cater to parents with children aged between 9 months and 4 years.
Additionally, you have the option to divide your funding between two childcare providers. To do this, simply share your eligibility code and relevant information with both providers; however, you can only access a maximum of two locations in a single day.
Each provider may determine your funding based on either a term-time only schedule or an all-year-round basis. It’s important to note that the funding cannot exceed the offer of 15 hours (570 hours per year) or 30 hours (1140 hours per year)
For more information about how we offer funding at New Beginnings flip through the 'Understanding fees and funding guide at New Beginnings .