Expansion to early childcare entitlements: Childcare Experiences Survey
Initial outputs from DfE's Childcare Experiences Survey (aka “Your Childcare”), understanding working parents' experiences of the expanded childcare entitlement
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Headline facts and figures
First choice provider
91%
of parents who chose to use formal childcare arrangements were able to get a place at their first choice of provider.
Ease of application
75%
of respondents found the application process easy to follow.
How was this measured?
Proportion of respondents who strongly agreed/agreed to the following statement: “The application process for the working families childcare entitlement was easy to follow”.
Childcare affordability
63%
of respondents agreed that the amount they pay for childcare per month is affordable for their family.
How did we measure this?
This is the proportion of formal childcare users who indicated either 'Agree' or 'Strongly agree' in response to the following statement: "The amount I pay for childcare per month is affordable for my family".
Increased working hours
11%
of respondents increased working hours since they started claiming the working families childcare entitlement.
Who does this relate to?
Proportion of respondents currently working full-time, part-time or self-employed who reported an increase in their working hours since they started claiming the working families childcare entitlements. This figure does not show the causal impact of the entitlement on hours worked.
Decreased working hours
23%
of respondents decreased working hours since they started claiming the working families childcare entitlement.
What does a decrease mean?
Proportion of respondents currently working full-time, part-time or self-employed who reported an decrease in their working hours since they started claiming the working families childcare entitlements. This figure does not show the causal impact of the entitlement on hours worked.
Reasons for decreased working hours
68%
of parents reported decreasing their working hours to spend more time with their child.
Accessing formal (paid for) early years provision
- 91% of respondents who reported using formal childcare arrangements (e.g., nursery/pre-school, nursery class attached to primary school and/or a childminder) were able to get a childcare place at their first choice of provider.
- 31% were placed on a waiting list before they could access their working families childcare entitlement or are currently on a waiting list (if respondents are not currently claiming the entitlement).
Experiences of applying for 30 hours childcare for eligible working families in England, via Childcare Choices
- The majority of respondents (75%) strongly agreed/agreed that the application process for the working families’ childcare entitlement was easy to follow.
- Lowest income households (earning less than £20,000) were less likely to claim the working parents entitlement than higher income households (earning £80,000 to £100,000 or more), at 83% and 97% respectively.
Perception of affordability of formal childcare
- 63% of parents who use formal childcare arrangements agreed with the statement "The amount I pay for childcare per month is affordable for my family".
Change in working hours since parents started claiming entitlements
- Since parents began claiming entitlements 11% of respondents increased their working hours, 23% decreased their working hours, and 65% reported no change.
- The highest proportion of respondents who increased their working hours were among households with lower incomes. For instance, 18% of respondents who reported a household income of below £39,999 have increased their working hours following the introduction of the entitlement compared to 8% of those with a household income of £60,000 and over.
- Changes in working hours can occur for a variety of reasons, for example switching from full-time work to part-time work after having a child. These figures do not show the causal impact of the entitlement on hours worked.
Influence of the working families' childcare entitlements in changing respondents' working hours
- 84% of respondents who increased their working hours as a result of being able to afford more childcare, said that the working families entitlement has helped them afford it. This is around 4% of all survey respondents.
Comparison with previous releases
- Please note that this release cannot be directly compared with the previous releases of Childcare Experiences Survey as each survey was run during a different stage of the policy rollout and should be interpreted in its individual context.
Section 1: Background and household characteristics
Background
The amount of financial support available to parents, in the form of government-funded childcare, has been extended. The new measures expanded the existing system by offering up to 30 hours of funded childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, to eligible parents of children aged nine months to four years old.
As of September 2025, all phases of this expansion had been successfully rolled-out. The survey, which was active between October and December 2025, sought to quantify parents' experiences of:
- Applying to access the 30 hours funded childcare hours entitlement for working families,
- Using childcare providers in their area for their child who is receiving funded childcare,
- How parents' childcare and employment arrangements work for them and their family.
Introduction
This section provides an overview of the current sample characteristics.
Issued sample
The current cohort consists of a stratified random sample of 23,750 who were selected from a base population of 400,000 customers who:
- had a live Child Benefit Claim
- had applied for a new eligibility code for the expanded childcare entitlements between 1st April 2025–31st August 2025 (child to start childcare from September 2025);
- had a child claimed for born between (and including) 31st August 2022 and 30th November 2024 (i.e. aged 9 months to 2 years at the time of sampling).
The sample was stratified proportionally, by regions in England, to guarantee geographic representation whilst ensuring any labour market effects in the regions most affected by unemployment were identified. To be designed with a higher representation of parents in lower-income areas in mind, a sample boost was applied in regions with high economic inactivity (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab), particularly in the Northern regions—which may be experiencing a shortage of childcare.
Achieved sample
A total of 3,989 respondents in England completed the survey between October and December 2025, a response rate of 14%. Of this sample, 23 respondents who did not fit the criteria were screened out the survey or exited before completing the first question. Respondents who provided invalid postcode data were excluded from analysis. The final sample size represented 3,220 individuals, 81% of the original achieved sample.
Household Characteristics
Respondents were asked questions about themselves and their household—including basic information regarding themselves and those they live with, including children. Results may not equal 100 percent due to rounding. All figures given are weighted proportions, except for the most common ages of children in households.
- 88% of respondents were female.
- 98% of respondents were living with a partner.
- Families had between 1-8 children (aged 17 years and under) living in their household. 36% reported having 2 children (standard deviation = 0.8) at their current address.
- Most of the children in the surveyed sample of households were aged 1 year (47%) and 2 years (13%).
Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)
- 6% of all respondents had a child with SEND at home.
- When asked to what extent caring for a child with SEND impacted their ability to work, 29% responded “a little”, 29% “a moderate amount”, and 18% “a great deal”.
Parents with a disability
- There was a small proportion of respondents with a disability amongst surveyed households (3%).
- The majority of these respondents said their disability does not impact their ability to work (63%) compared to those reporting that it does (28%).
Parents with caring responsibilities for other people in their household over the age of 18
- There was a small proportion of respondents with caring responsibilities amongst surveyed households (2%).
- The majority of these respondents said their caring responsibilities does not impact their ability to work (65%), compared to those reporting that it does (30%).
Employment status
- At the time of the survey, 41% of respondents were working full-time as an employee, 47% part-time as an employee, and 8% were self-employed or freelance.
- At the time of the survey, 74% of respondents' partners were working full-time as an employee, 9% part-time as an employee, and 15% were self-employed or freelance.
Parents' household annual income (before tax)
- Lowest household income: 6% of parents had a household income of less than £20,000.
- Lower household income: 14% of parents had a household income between £20,000-£39,999.
- Middle household income: 21% of parents had a household income between £40,000-£59,999.
- Middle household income: 25% of parents had a household income between £60,000-£79,999.
- Higher household income: 21% of parents had a household income between £80,000-£99,999.
- Highest household income: 14% of parents had a household income of more than £100,000.
Further information
More detailed information, including sample sizes, can be found in additional tables available in the “supporting files” section and the Methodology section of this release.
Find out more: information on eligibility criteria (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab).
Section 2: Experiences of applying for the working parents entitlement via Childcare Choices
Introduction
This section reports respondents' perceptions of the ease of applying for the working families childcare entitlement; the proportion of respondents who received a childcare eligibility code and went on to claim the childcare offer; and the main reasons for not claiming the childcare offered.
Findings
Ease of the working families childcare entitlement application process
The majority of respondents (75%) strongly agree/agree with the following statement: “The application process for the working families childcare entitlement was easy to follow”.
Disability status: 23% of respondents with a disability disagreed or strongly disagreed that the process was easy compared to 15% of respondents with no disabilities.
SEND: Respondents who have a child with SEND in their household reported a slight decrease in the level of agreement with the statement that the entitlement application process was easy to follow (74%), compared to those without a child with SEND (75%).
Age of child claimed for: Across all age groups, the majority of respondents either agree or strongly agree that the application process was easy to follow. The proportion of respondents who disagree or strongly disagree is slightly lower for 2 and 3 year olds (14-15%), compared to 9-11 months (15%).
Accessing the 30 hours working families entitlements
In general, a majority of respondents (94%) who received a childcare eligibility code went on to claim their 30 hours funded childcare offered.
Household income: A higher proportion of respondents with higher household incomes annually (between £60,000 - £100,000 or more) report accessing the 30 hours funded working families childcare entitlement (97%), compared with respondents earning a household income less than £20,000 (83%).
SEND: Across both groups (has SEND children, no SEND children), the majority of respondents (90% and 95%, respectively) were accessing the 30 hours funded working families childcare entitlements.
By region: Across all regions, there was high uptake of the 30 hours funded working families childcare entitlement. Respondents in the South East and London (96%) report the highest uptake compared to respondents in the West Midlands and the South (93%).
Reasons for not using the working families childcare entitlement
At the time of the survey, 6% were not accessing the 30 hours funded working families childcare entitlement; of whom 18% had a child starting childcare next term or were waiting for a place for their child to become available, 6% used childcare that was not eligible for the entitlement. 12% chose alternative provision not eligible for the funded hours, and 7% were not able to afford additional costs.
Section 3: Barriers to finding and using early years provision
Introduction
This section reports proportions of respondents who were on a waiting list before accessing the entitlement or were not on a waiting list at the time of the survey; the different challenges experienced by respondents when finding a childcare place; and, the number of respondents facing restrictions from their childcare provider about when they can use their funded childcare hours.
Findings
Accessing formal (paid for) early years provision
91% who reported using formal childcare arrangements (e.g., nursery/pre-school, nursery class attached to primary school and or a childminder) were able to get a childcare place at their first choice of provider.
Whether accessing entitlements: For respondents who had gone on to claim their 30 hours childcare entitlement, 30% reported being placed on a waiting list by their childcare provider before they could access their working families childcare entitlement. Meanwhile, of respondents who were not claiming their 30 hours funded childcare at the time of the survey, 45% said their child was currently on a waiting list from their provider.
Challenges experienced when finding suitable childcare
43% of all respondents encountered no challenges when finding a childcare place. Whereas, 27% experienced challenges finding childcare affordable to them, 23% found it challenging to find suitable childcare for their preferences, and 23% had difficulties securing a place at their preferred provider.
SEND: Respondents with and without a child with SEND in their household report similar overall experiences finding a childcare place. However, a higher proportion of respondents who had a child with SEND in their household, compared to those without, reported challenges finding suitable childcare that met their preferences (44% vs 25%) and securing a place at their preferred provider (31% vs 24%). Additionally, more respondents who had a child with SEND reported challenges understanding guidance for childcare offers (18%) compared to respondents with no children with SEND (10%).
Provider restrictions
A majority of respondents reported not facing any restrictions from their main childcare provider about when they can use their funded childcare hours (71%).
When respondents could use their funded childcare hours: 17% of respondents reported facing restrictions from their main childcare provider about when they can use their funded childcare hours. Of these, 35% could only use a certain number of government-funded hours per day.
Section 4: Using childcare
Introduction
This section reports the proportions of respondents using formal (paid for) and informal (unpaid) types of early years provision for the child receiving entitlement funded childcare; factors influencing parents' decision to use formal childcare; and the average number of hours children receiving the funded entitlement spend in childcare per week.
Findings
Types of childcare arrangements respondents are using
Nursery or pre-school was the most popular childcare arrangement for those not claiming childcare entitlement (83%), this was followed by the child's grandparent(s) (28%), and childminders (13%).
For those receiving the funded childcare entitlement, nursery or pre-schools were still the most common type of childcare reported (85%), followed by the child's grandparent(s) (27%), and childminders (14%). These values do not sum to 100 as parents could select multiple answers.
Factors influencing parent’s decision to use formal childcare
Among respondents who reported using at least one type of formal paid childcare arrangement (e.g., nurseries, pre-school, childminders, nanny or au pair), 92% indicated that “it [enabled them] to work”. Other common reasons included formal childcare being important for their child's social development (81%), emotional development (67%), and physical development (60%).
Hours spent in formal (paid for) early years provision
Respondents who selected either nursery or pre-school, nursery class attached to primary or infants' school, or a childminder, were asked to report the number of hours in total per week their child receiving funded childcare entitlement spends in formal childcare (including both government funded and hours parents may pay for).
The median number of hours all respondents reported their child spending in formal childcare per week was 29 hours (standard deviation = 9.7). The high standard deviation indicates substantial variability in the number of hours used.
Household income: Higher-income households reported the greatest number of formal childcare hours used per week. Specifically, for respondents with a household income of £100,000 or more, the median number of hours children spend per week in formal childcare was 30 hours, compared to 24 hours per week for respondents earning an income of less than £20,000.
By region: Households in the West Midlands, South East, and London reported the greatest number of formal childcare hours used per week (median = 30 hours), compared with households in the North East (mean = 24 hours).
Type of childcare parents are claiming majority of their entitlement hours in
A higher proportion of respondents who had gone onto claim their 30 hours of funded childcare at the time of the survey, were claiming the majority of their entitlement hours in a nursery or pre-school (84%), compared to a childminder (13%), and nursery class attached to primary or infants' school (3%).
Respondents who claimed the majority of their entitlement on childminders reported their child spending more hours per week in this setting (median = 30 hours), compared with a nursery or pre-school (median = 29 hours), and nursery class attached to primary or infants' school (mean = 24 hours).
Section 5: Provider fees and charges
Introduction
This section focuses on respondents experiences of paying for childcare, specifically for their child who is receiving the funded childcare entitlement. Including the proportion of respondents who's childcare costs have changed since they began utilising the 30 hours entitlement, following its expansion in September 2025.
Findings
Change in childcare costs
Respondents were asked if their child started in formal (paid for) childcare before they started claiming the expanded entitlement. For those who said 'Yes', the majority reported their childcare costs had decreased (63%), whilst 13% reported an increase in their childcare costs, and 24% had stayed the same following the expansion of the working families childcare entitlements from September 2025.
Note that respondents may have changed the amount of childcare they use over this period, which would be reflected in their costs.
Entitlement funded providers: Across the three types of paid early years provision where parents can claim their entitlement hours, a higher proportion of respondents reported a reduction in childcare costs since September 2025 for childminders (70%), compared with a nursery classes attached to primary or infants' school (63%), and a nursery or pre-school (62%).
Change in childcare costs since September 2025 by household income
Reduction in childcare costs: A higher proportion of higher-income households reported a reduction in childcare costs since the introduction of the entitlement. Specifically, 65% of respondents earning £100,000 or more reported a reduction—in contrast, 59% of households with incomes of less than £20,000 reported a reduction.
My childcare costs have stayed the same: With the exception of households earning £40,000-£59,999 (18%) and £100,000 or more (22%), approximately a quarter (27%) of households have reported their childcare costs staying the same.
Note that respondents may have changed the amount of childcare they use over this period, which would be reflected in their costs changing.
By region: Households in London (18%) reported the highest increase in childcare costs since the expansion to early years childcare entitlements. Fewer households in the West Midlands (66%) and East Midlands (65%) reported that their childcare costs have reduced (8%) since the expansion to early years childcare entitlements, compared to those that have reported an increase (12%).
Additional hours and charges
Data on the types of additional charges parents pay is available in the View or create your own tables tool.
Section 6: Changes in respondents' employment patterns and childcare usage following the entitlements expansion
Changes in working hours since parents started claiming entitlements
Introduction
This section reports on how respondents' working hours have changed since they started claiming the working families childcare entitlements, and the extent to which respondents view the expanded entitlement offer as influential in their change in working hours. Changes in working hours can occur for a variety of reasons, for example switching from full-time work to part-time work after having a child. These figures do not show the causal impact of the entitlement on hours worked.
Findings
65% of parents who were working full-time, part-time or self-employed at the time of the survey, reported no change in their working hours since they started claiming working families' childcare entitlements. In contrast, 11% saw an increase and 23% saw a decrease in their working hours.
By household income
No change: A higher proportion of households earning £100,000 or more said their working hours stayed the same compared with those earning less than £20,000 (70% vs 61%).
Working hours have decreased: 25% of respondents with household incomes between £60,000-79,999 reported a decrease in working hours—the highest of any income group.
Working hours have increased: the highest proportion of respondents who reported increasing their working hours was observed among those with a household income of £20,000 or less, and among those with a household income of between £20,000 and £39,999, with 18% reporting an increase in both groups.
Breakdowns by household income and SEND responsibility represent small samples and results should be interpretated with caution.
By region: The North East had the highest proportion of respondents whose working hours had decreased (27%), Whereas the South West reported the highest increase in working hours (16%). London and the North West reported higher proportions of respondents saying their hours had stayed the same since they started claiming the working families' childcare entitlements (70%).
Reasons for increasing working hours
Among parents who increased their working hours after starting to claim the entitlement, for nearly half (47%) this was because of taking on additional hours or starting a new job. The next most common reason was being able to afford more childcare (31%), followed closely by returning to work after parental leave (30%).
Reasons for increased childcare affordability
Of those that stated their working hours had increased due to being able to afford more childcare, 84% said this was due to the working families entitlement. As this group accounts for just 4% of the total sample, the findings should not be considered statistically significant evidence of the entitlement's effect on childcare affordability.
Reasons for decreasing working hours
Among parents who reduced their working hours after starting to claim the entitlement, the most common reason was to spend more time with their child (68%). The next most frequently reported reasons, each selected by 11% of parents, were covering for additional childcare hours and moving into a job or role with fewer working hours.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Expansion to early childcare entitlements: Childcare Experiences Survey statistics and data:
Early Years Entitlements Evaluation and Analysis Team
Email: Your.childcare@education.gov.ukContact name: Julia Moldawan
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