At the beginning of the term after children become 3, parents can claim up to 30 hours 'free' childcare a week for 36 ( I think ) weeks of the year if the setting they choose has space and the facilities to offer it. ( All parents can claim up to 15 hours a week for over 3s with no assessment). If there are 2 parents in the household, both must work over 16 hours to claim the free 30 hours - it should be 25 in my opinion to allow for some travel. People who only work 16 hours or under don't actually need 30 hours childcare paid for by other taxpayers, do they? It not free is it, it's a cost to somebody just as the NHS, schools, emergency services etc. are.
You have to apply for a code on a termly basis from the local authority to see if you are eligible. If you are on a high salary such that you are no longer eligible for child benefit you can't claim either. Some employers offer childcare vouchers whereby you can pay a certain amount into a scheme and you don't pay tax on that amount, a bit like the tax savings when you pay into a pension and you can use those vouchers to pay towards childcare. If the fees at the nursery or whatever setting is chosen are higher than what the government currently allows then you would have to pay to top up the difference per hour of care. You would also have to pay the full fees for the remaining weeks of the years when the scheme does not operate just as if you would have to find childcare for the school holidays.
It's all very simple really but I work in a nursery where some of the parents make such a fuss as it's all 'so much effort to do it'!! It really annoys me and I tell the moaners that if you don't want something for nothing and can't be bothered to fill in a claim form then just pay the full fees all the time then. That shuts them up and gets them moving because we refuse to mollycoddle them and do it for them. It's their decision to have children and work and use childcare. It's about time people started sorting out their own lives and stopped thinking that it's someone else's responsibility to hold their hand and do things for them or remind them of things all the time!!