Latest news with #childcarecosts
BBC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
How can working parents get 15 and 30 hours of free childcare?
Eligible working parents of children from nine months old can now apply for 30 hours of free childcare a week in England from September. The government hopes the scheme will get more parents back to work, but there are serious concerns about the number of staff and places childcare arrangements vary in other parts of the UK. How expensive is UK childcare? The average cost of full-time nursery (50 hours a week) for a child under two in England is £12,425 in 2025. That's a fall of 22% from 2024, according to the Coram Family and Childcare charity, as the government funded hours scheme is the most expensive place in Great Britain for under-twos, at £15, cost of a full-time place for three and four-year-olds went up in all three nations. How does free childcare in England work? In England, all three and-four year olds are eligible for 15 hours of government funded childcare, regardless of their parents working status. Other help is also available, but this depends on the age of your child and whether you are working or receiving certain parents can get:15 hours of childcare paid for by the government for children aged between nine months and 23 months old (increasing to 30 hours in September30 hours of childcare paid for by the government for three and four-year-oldsTo qualify for the new hours, the majority of parents must earn more than £9,518, but less than £100,000 per on certain benefits can get:15 hours of free childcare for two-year-oldsIf you do not work, you might still be eligible for 30 hours of free childcare if your partner works, or you receive some benefits (for example maternity or paternity leave).UK government: Childcare choicesUK government: Childcare calculator How do you apply for 15 or 30 hours of free childcare? Parents can apply for 15 hours of childcare from when their child is 23 weeks old, and for 30 hours once their child is two years and 36 weeks entitlement starts at the beginning of the term after your child reaches the qualifying government website has details of the deadlines to apply for each age childcare hours are designed to be used over 38 weeks of the year - during school term some providers will stretch them over 52 weeks if you use fewer hours per week. What is not covered by the free childcare hours? The government is increasing the hourly rate it pays childcare providers offering free in many cases, this rate does not cover the full cost of the childcare. So, some providers charge for extras like meals, nappies, sun cream or to research from the Pregnant Then Screwed charity, almost a quarter (23%) of parents it surveyed said they couldn't afford to access free childcare hours because of top-up February, the Department for Education (DfE) wrote to nurseries saying parents should be able to opt out of paying for these extras, "to ensure no family is priced out".However, some providers say they use these payments to subsidise the cost of the free hours for three and four-year-olds. More than 5,000 nurseries have signed an open letter to the DfE asking for the new rules to be delayed. Are there enough childcare places? The DfE says an additional 35,000 staff and 70,000 places will be required to meet demand by September education regulator Ofsted has warned that access to childcare in England has declined since 2020 and improvements have not been evenly spread across the average, so-called "childcare deserts" have lower household incomes and higher levels of deprivation than other government offered a cash incentive of £600 to those who become childminders (or £1,200 for those joining via an agency) which ended in March. Childcare staffing rose by 6% across 2024 as a whole, however the number of childminders - those providing early years care in homes - has continued to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows the total population of zero to five-year-olds fell by 1% per year from 2018 to 2022, the number of childcare places increased by 44,400 between 2023 and 2024, according to DfE figures. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said early years had been her "priority from day one". However, nursery bosses argue the government's updated funding rates for 2025 will not offset rising Early Years Alliance charity said about 185 nurseries of 1,100 it surveyed said they were "likely" to withdraw from the scheme within the next 12 months "due to unsustainable financial pressures".In April, the government announced the first 300 school-based nurseries, which it says will provide 4,000 extra places by September 2025. What childcare help is available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? All three and four-year-olds and some two-year-olds in Scotland are entitled to 30 hours a week of funded childcare during term time (or 22 hours a week if used across the year), regardless of their parents' working parents in Wales can get 30 hours of childcare for three and four-year-olds, and the government says it is expanding support for Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) provides a 15% discount on childcare to qualifying working parents with pre-school-age children. The scheme will be extended to include primary school-age children from September. How does tax-free childcare work? Parents may be entitled to other support, including the UK-wide tax-free childcare every £8 you pay into an online childcare account, the government adds £2 (up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for disabled children).You can use the money to pay for approved childcare, for example:Childminders, nurseries and nanniesAfter-school clubs and play schemesYour childcare provider must be signed up to the who qualify for free childcare hours can save in the tax-free scheme as much is child benefit worth and who can claim it?
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10 Most Expensive States for Child Care
The American Dream has undergone quite a few changes since it was first popularized nearly 100 years ago; but one thing that — for millions — is still integral to it is the concept of having a family. People of all backgrounds and statuses want to raise children and they want their children to be happy, healthy and safe. At the most rudimentary level, this means having the means to take care of them in the most literal sense. But can you afford to take care of your kids? Will it make more sense to quit your job and upend if not end your career to raise a child? With the cost of child care skyrocketing, this is the sort of question prospective parents have to think through. Parents in some states are feeling the hurt of this expense more profoundly than caregivers in other states. In a new study, GOBankingRates found the average cost for child care in all 50 states. These are the 10 where the costs for this essential service are the highest, based on the median income for households with children. Find Out: Read Next: Median income for families with children: $66,294 Average annual center-based child care costs: $7,475 Average annual family child care costs: $6,084 Median income for families with children: $95,239 Average annual center-based child care costs: $12,212 Average annual family child care costs: $8,520 Watch Out: Median income for families with children: $77,727 Average annual center-based child care costs: $8,528 Average annual family child care costs: $7,599 for families with children: $93,923 Average annual center-based child care costs: $11,622 Average annual family child care costs: $8,190 Median income for families with children: $106,419 Average annual center-based child care costs: $12,744 Average annual family child care costs: $9,750 Median income for families with children: $104,728 Average annual center-based child care costs: $11,706 Average annual family child care costs: $10,037 Median income for families with children: $105,624 Average annual center-based child care costs: $11,940 child care costs: $9,971 Median income for families with children: $125,496 Average annual center-based child care costs: $15,455 Average annual family child care costs: $11,570 Median income for families with children: $89,743 Average annual center-based child care costs: $10,302 Average annual family child care costs: $7,344 Median income for families with children: $93,478 Average annual center-based child care costs: $8,632 Average annual family child care costs: $6,822 More From GOBankingRates 5 Luxury Cars That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Spring 2025 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region 12 SUVs With the Most Reliable Engines Methodology: In order to find the states where child care is the most and least affordable, GOBankingRates analyzed the costs of center-based childcare and family child care for infants and toddlers as sourced from ChildCareAware's Child Care Data Center and calculated the average costs for each type of child care across all child ages. The average for each category was compared to the states median income for families with children as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. The difference from the median family income and the average cost for each child care category can be calculated, scored and weighted at 1.50; the average cost for center-based child care was scored and weighted at 1; the average cost for family child care was scored and weighted at 1; the family child care costs as percentage of family income was scored and weighted at 1; the center-based child care costs as percentage of family income was scored and weighted at 1. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the states with the most and least affordable child care. All data was collected and is up to date as of May 6, 2025. This article originally appeared on 10 Most Expensive States for Child Care Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10 Most Expensive States for Child Care
The American Dream has undergone quite a few changes since it was first popularized nearly 100 years ago; but one thing that — for millions — is still integral to it is the concept of having a family. People of all backgrounds and statuses want to raise children and they want their children to be happy, healthy and safe. At the most rudimentary level, this means having the means to take care of them in the most literal sense. But can you afford to take care of your kids? Will it make more sense to quit your job and upend if not end your career to raise a child? With the cost of child care skyrocketing, this is the sort of question prospective parents have to think through. Parents in some states are feeling the hurt of this expense more profoundly than caregivers in other states. In a new study, GOBankingRates found the average cost for child care in all 50 states. These are the 10 where the costs for this essential service are the highest, based on the median income for households with children. Find Out: Read Next: Median income for families with children: $66,294 Average annual center-based child care costs: $7,475 Average annual family child care costs: $6,084 Median income for families with children: $95,239 Average annual center-based child care costs: $12,212 Average annual family child care costs: $8,520 Watch Out: Median income for families with children: $77,727 Average annual center-based child care costs: $8,528 Average annual family child care costs: $7,599 for families with children: $93,923 Average annual center-based child care costs: $11,622 Average annual family child care costs: $8,190 Median income for families with children: $106,419 Average annual center-based child care costs: $12,744 Average annual family child care costs: $9,750 Median income for families with children: $104,728 Average annual center-based child care costs: $11,706 Average annual family child care costs: $10,037 Median income for families with children: $105,624 Average annual center-based child care costs: $11,940 child care costs: $9,971 Median income for families with children: $125,496 Average annual center-based child care costs: $15,455 Average annual family child care costs: $11,570 Median income for families with children: $89,743 Average annual center-based child care costs: $10,302 Average annual family child care costs: $7,344 Median income for families with children: $93,478 Average annual center-based child care costs: $8,632 Average annual family child care costs: $6,822 More From GOBankingRates 5 Luxury Cars That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Spring 2025 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region 12 SUVs With the Most Reliable Engines Methodology: In order to find the states where child care is the most and least affordable, GOBankingRates analyzed the costs of center-based childcare and family child care for infants and toddlers as sourced from ChildCareAware's Child Care Data Center and calculated the average costs for each type of child care across all child ages. The average for each category was compared to the states median income for families with children as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. The difference from the median family income and the average cost for each child care category can be calculated, scored and weighted at 1.50; the average cost for center-based child care was scored and weighted at 1; the average cost for family child care was scored and weighted at 1; the family child care costs as percentage of family income was scored and weighted at 1; the center-based child care costs as percentage of family income was scored and weighted at 1. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the states with the most and least affordable child care. All data was collected and is up to date as of May 6, 2025. This article originally appeared on 10 Most Expensive States for Child Care
