Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many weeks is the offering of 30 hours free childcare spread across the year.

​We want parents to have access to a range of affordable childcare, giving them increased flexibility in their working hours and helping children thrive in the crucial early years. That is why the Department for Education is investing £3.5 billion in our early education offers this year alone.

The 30 hours childcare entitlement provides an additional 570 hours of funded childcare to working parents of 3 and 4 year olds across the year. The 570 hours are in addition to the 570 hours already provided under the universal 15 hours free childcare entitlement. While many providers will offer 30 hours of funded childcare per week during term time (38 weeks of the year), all free entitlements can be ‘stretched’ by taking fewer hours per week over up to 52 weeks of the year to cover both term-time and the school holidays.

To ensure that parents can make informed decisions on their choice of childcare, the department’s statutory guidance for local authorities states that providers should publish a statement of how they deliver the free entitlements and any additional charges they impose for optional activities outside of the entitlement.