UK Childcare Costs 2026: Coram Family + Childcare Survey Findings

The detail

The Coram Family and Childcare Survey 2026 is the first since the funded childcare entitlement for working parents in England rose from 15 to 30 hours a week in September 2025. Children from nine months old with eligible working parents are now entitled to 30 funded hours a week for 38 weeks a year.

For eligible families, the average full-time (50 hours a week) nursery cost for a child under two in England is £148.82 a week in term time in 2026, a 38.9% drop on 2025 (£238.95). Coram notes that a part-time (25 hour) place is now theoretically free during term time for eligible families, apart from extras such as refundable deposits and optional consumables charges.

Scotland and Wales have no funded entitlement for children under two, and costs there have risen: a part-time (25 hour) nursery place for an under-two costs £133.08 a week in Scotland (up 5.1%) and £163.33 in Wales (up 8.5%). The divergence between England and the other nations is now large.

Families who do not meet the England eligibility test pay the full cost - £189 a week for a part-time place. To be eligible, each parent (and any partner) must earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, and neither can have adjusted net income above £100,000. Crossing £100,000 removes both the 30 funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare at once, which is why the threshold acts as a cliff edge.

The entitlement covers 38 weeks a year. Coram reports that parents who need childcare all year either "stretch" the entitlement over more weeks (typically about 22 funded hours a week, at a higher weekly cost) or pay full price outside term time - an average of £372 a week in 2026 for a full-time (50 hour) nursery place for an under-two in England without entitlements, up from £341 in 2025.