Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to announce a major shake-up of the free childcare scheme, calling for 30 hours of free childcare support per week for families receiving benefits. The proposal, expected to be outlined in a speech in Oxford today, would extend eligibility beyond working parents, who currently qualify under the existing system.
Current System Excludes Benefit Claimants
Under the present UK system, only parents who are both in employment typically receive free childcare for children aged nine months to four years. Since September 2025, all eligible working families can access 30 hours per week. However, Phillipson argues that families on benefits are being shut out, leaving around half of children from low-income households without formal early years provision.
“We know that around half of all children from low-income families are missing out on formal childcare and early years,” Phillipson will say. “There are families out there who can't afford quality childcare because they aren't working, and they struggle to work because they can't afford quality childcare. So their children miss out on quality early years education. Where's the sense in that?”
Cost Implications and Expert Warnings
The current childcare scheme in England is forecast to cost taxpayers approximately £8 billion annually by 2028. Experts indicate that extending the offer to all families, including those on benefits, would require up to £15 billion per year. The Department for Education (DfE) estimates more than 500,000 families already benefit from funded hours under the existing system.
Phillipson will argue that a universal early years provision has strong social and economic benefits. “By extending government-funded childcare into these communities, not only would we be supporting parents into work, not only would we be supporting disadvantaged children with quality early years, but we would no longer be cutting off these families from society, no longer fostering disengagement and detachment. That's a big opportunity that we must be bold enough to take,” she is expected to say.
Eligibility Details Under Current Rules
Currently, families with children aged nine months to two years qualify if they earn at least the national minimum wage for 16 hours a week on average, but less than £100,000 a year. Parents of three and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare per week regardless of work status, with working parents able to claim the full 30 hours if they meet earnings criteria.
The proposed changes would remove the working requirement for benefit claimants, potentially adding hundreds of thousands more families to the scheme. The Treasury has not yet commented on how the additional costs would be funded.
