PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(18 May 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has considered allowing parents to use their remaining 30 hours of free childcare entitlement in September if their child has a staggered start to reception.

Asked by:
Lizzi Collinge (Labour)

Children remain eligible for the free entitlement until they either start in reception at a state-funded school or reach compulsory school age.

A child attending a state-funded reception class on a part-time basis is entitled to additional free hours at another provider if the child’s parents have a 30 hours eligibility code. The maximum number of free hours in both the school reception class and another provider is 1140 hours per year.

Children who start on a staggered basis are not considered part-time and are counted as taking up a full-time place, with full-time attendance expected by the end of September.

Answered by:
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