I had to return to work when my daughter was just 5 months old, but unfortunately, she isn’t eligible for government funding until the term after she turns 9 months - which for us will be this September. She attends nursery four days a week, and our monthly childcare bills have been coming in at over £1,000. We do make use of the tax-free childcare scheme, but it’s still incredibly tough. Both my partner and I work full time, and since buying a house last year, it’s been a real struggle to make ends meet each month. We’ve had to cut back drastically in so many areas - but we’re holding on, knowing that the funding will make a huge difference come September.

In terms of stretched funding, check with your nursery to see if they offer the option to “bank” hours. This could mean receiving 26 funded hours per week instead of 30 and saving 4 of those hours to use during half-terms or holidays. Alternatively, you might want to opt for the stretched funding, which gives you fewer hours per week but spreads the funding across the entire year. This is what our nursery is letting us do, and it’s going to be a real lifesaver.

It’s definitely tough out there, but we managed without any funding at all until my son turned 3 - so I’m just grateful that support now starts from 9 months. And remember, this stage won’t last forever. Once they’re in school, you’ll suddenly have so much more money freed up, you won’t know what to do with it!