GOV.UK guidance on naming your service states:
The name you choose for your service is important to its success. Picking the right name means that users can:
- find your service more easily when they search online
- understand what your service does and easily decide whether to use it*
As part of research we carried out in April 2026, we wanted to understand which service name best matched user expectations and clearly communicated the purpose of the service.
What we already knew
As a team we had previously carried out a service naming workshop, where we:
- reviewed similar or related services
- captured what our service would do
- looked at likely search terms users may use
Based on this, we created a long list of names that aligned with GOV.UK and DfE standards on service naming. We then refined these down to a shortlist of names:
- Get help with childcare costs
- Check if you can save money on childcare costs
- Check if you are eligible for childcare funding
- Check what help you could get with childcare costs (the existing name used by the HMRC service)
The design problem
The service needed a name that would help users understand its purpose before they started using it.
We also needed to avoid creating misleading expectations.
Names focused on childcare costs could imply that users would receive direct payments.
Names focused solely on eligibility checking might downplay the wider role of the service in helping users understand childcare support and application routes.
The challenge was finding language that balanced clarity, accuracy and future flexibility.
What we tested
We conducted useability testing with 11 participants.
At the end of sessions, we first asked participants how they might describe the service to other people in order to identify any themes in common terms used.
The language participants used when describing the service tended to focus on understanding eligibility and finding out what childcare funding was available. These themes were reflected in naming options tested and helped explain why participants responded positively to names containing the words "eligible" and "funding".
We showed users the shortlist of names to get an idea of what name best aligned with their experience of the service they had just seen.
What we learned
There was a clear preference amongst users for the name:
Check if you are eligible for childcare funding
Participants consistently described this option as the one that most closely matched their expectations of what the service would do.
Several specifically referred to the words "eligible" and "funding" as important signals that helped them understand the purpose of the service.
Another described funding as a familiar term that already matched how many parents think about childcare support. This suggested that "funding" better aligned with user mental models than language focused on costs or payments.
Names focused on childcare costs were less popular
Several participants associated these names with direct financial payments and felt they did not accurately reflect how childcare support works in practice. Users recognised that most childcare support reduces costs or provides funded hours rather than giving them money directly.
One participant explained they would rule out the cost-based options because “you're not giving me any money”.
The decision
Following this research, the team adopted the service name:
Check if you are eligible for childcare funding
The decision was informed by:
- strong user preference
- alignment with user expectations
- compatibility with the service's broader direction
The research suggested that the combination of "eligible" and "childcare funding" helped users most quickly understand what the service would help them do.
What we still need to learn
The research gave us a clear direction, but it was based on a relatively small sample of 11 participants. While users consistently preferred "Check if you are eligible for childcare funding", we recognise that naming decisions benefit from continued observation over time.
We will continue to monitor how well the name supports understanding, trust and discoverability. We will also assess whether the name, supporting content and wider journey help users understand they are using a checker, not starting an application.