Helping families with childcare
Help families with the cost of living through affordable, quality childcare.
Funded childcare
These charts show the number of children taking up funded childcare by different age groups.
Funded childcare data explained
Description of charts: line charts showing the number of 2-year-olds and 3 to 4-year-olds taking up funded childcare, as well as the total population of 2-year-olds and 3 to 4-year-olds. Take up of funded childcare for 2-year-olds has increased substantially in recent years due to the expanded roll out. The overall number taking up the offer has increased from around 7,000 in financial year 2022 to 2023 to around 18,000 in 2025 to 2026. The total figure for take up for 2025 to 2026 is an estimate based on the 2024 to 2025 total. The population figures are estimates. Because of this, the number of 2-year-olds receiving funded childcare may sometimes look higher than the total number of 2-year-olds.
For 3 to 4-year-olds, around 22,000 children were accessing funded childcare in 2024 to 2025.
Funded childcare for 2-year-olds:
- Take up of funded childcare for 2-year-olds has increased substantially since 2022 following the expansion of provision to more 2-year-olds.
- Expansion began in September 2022, with further phases introduced from April 2023 and April 2025.
- In financial year 2024 to 2025, the definition of take up changed to a consistent Wales-wide measure.
- From 2024 to 2025, take up is measured by whether a child attended a funded childcare setting at least once.
- Before 2024 to 2025, take up was mainly measured by whether a childcare place had been accepted, although some local authorities reported attendance instead.
- Caution is therefore needed when comparing figures before and after 2024 to 2025. These statistics are based on management information collected by the Welsh Government from local authorities and are published as official statistics in development.
Funded childcare for 3 to 4-year-olds:
- The chart shows the number of 3 to 4-year-olds accessing funded childcare and the estimated total population.
- The number of children accessing funded childcare varies from year to year and is influenced by factors including the number of 3 and 4-year-olds living in Wales and the number of families currently meeting the eligibility criteria. Eligibility is based on parents living in Wales with a 3 or 4-year-old child, where each parent has a gross annual income of £100,000 or less and is either in qualifying work or enrolled on an eligible course.
- The number of children accessing funded childcare is calculated from programme monitoring data.
- The eligible population is an estimate based on Annual Population Survey data.
- Results from 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and should be interpreted with caution.
- There is no comparable data for 2022 to 2023 due to the introduction of a new monitoring system.
Data sources: Report of the Childcare Offer for Wales: September 2023 to August 2024 and Flying Start Statistics and Research
Why childcare matters
Access to affordable childcare helps children get the best start in life while supporting parents and carers to work, study or train.
Access to affordable childcare can lead to positive consequences, such as:
- reducing financial pressure on families
- parents increasing their working hours or staying in work
- more opportunities for parents to access education or training
- higher household incomes and reduced risk of poverty
- children having opportunities to learn, play and socialise in their early years
- improvements to families' health and wellbeing
Affordable childcare can improve outcomes for children and families, strengthen communities and support a stronger economy. Limited access to affordable childcare can increase costs for families, lead to fewer parents staying in work or decreasing their working hours, and mean that children miss out on opportunities to develop the skills and confidence they need to thrive.
What we're doing to improve childcare
The government has an ambitious commitment to expand government-funded childcare so every child aged 9 months to 4 years is entitled to 20 hours a week for 48 weeks of the year.
To make childcare more affordable and accessible for families across Wales, the government is:
- rolling out funded childcare to all 2-year-olds across Wales, with 4 local authorities having completed the rollout of 12.5 hours of funded childcare
- extending entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds to parents not currently eligible
- maintaining the existing offer of 30 hours of funded childcare for eligible 3 and 4-year-olds whose parents are working, studying or training
- investing in early years services that support children's learning, development and wellbeing
Together, these actions aim to provide affordable childcare options for families, improve quality of life for families and give every child the best possible start in life.