But mum Monika, a quantity surveyor based near Milton Keynes, said she had “no idea how difficult it would be” to find a new place for their son.
“After the tenth ‘no’ from a nursery, I broke down,” she said.
The couple, who contacted Your Voice, Your BBC News to share their story, thought the government funded hours were “a Godsend”.
But Henry says it only works when there are spaces available.
“If the childminders don’t feel they’re getting adequately compensated, then it gets pushed back onto the parents. We don’t have family around and we’re really at our wits’ end.”
Though they have now secured a potential place for Leo in January, it is only for three days a week – meaning they are now having to discuss flexible work arrangements with their employers.
The number of childminders has been falling for a decade, from almost 48,000 in 2015 to 26,000 in 2024, Ofsted figures suggest.