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The Early Years Finance team appreciates your on-going dedication and commitment to children and families in your area and would like to send you a big ‘thank you’!!
You are all truly amazing.
Wishing you all:
A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2024
The Government have announced that applications for the first wave of the rollout of the expansion of funded childcare for working parents will open on 2 January 2024. Eligible working parents of two-year-olds will be able to apply to access 15 hours of funded childcare per week from April 2024.
Please encourage your families to apply for this funding from mid-January to reduce the need for them to reconfirm their details again before they take up a place in April 2024.
To be eligible for stage 1 of the roll out, children will need to have reached their second birthday on or before the 31 March 2024, and their parents will need to have successfully applied for, and be in receipt of, a code by the 31 March 2024 deadline to be eligible to access their funded childcare from April 2024.
The eligibility criteria for this new cohort of families are the same as the current offer for 3-and-4-year-olds and are detailed in the following link: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
If parents apply too early it may mean they will need to reconfirm their code before they are able to start accessing their child’s funded place, therefore the recommended time to apply is between mid-January and the end of February.
Parents can also now sign up to the new Childcare Choices Newsletter to receive details about the upcoming expansions, as well as information on how and when to register for support with their childcare costs. Please could you promote this to your families and encourage them to sign up for updates from Childcare Choices so that they are aware of their potential eligibility for this new funding, and that they can apply within the required timescales.
We have also designed fresh marketing materials to help you promote these new offers which you should have received by email. If you have not received this, then please contact us at info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk and we can arrange for this to be shared with you. We will also be promoting the new entitlements and the relevant application dates on our Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/DerbyshireFIS. Again, please promote this with your families by inviting them to like and follow the page.
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Every funded PVI Early Years setting in England is required to provide the local authority with their Early Years Census data on the above date.
You will receive further guidance in early January 2024
DfE guidance can be viewed here:
Early years census - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
January 2024 Estimates – Estimates for the January 2024 Interim payment, must be submitted by 19 December 2023.
January/February 2024 Actuals: - the provider portal will be open from 02 January – 21 January 2024 for the submission of funded hours.
Please remember to access a copy of the 2023 – 2024 funding calendar via SchoolsNet - Funding and contracts tile, to remind yourself of the provider portal open and closure dates to prevent missed funding claim submissions.
Please ensure all data is submitted accurately on to the system and all children’s hours are included.
Please allow yourself plenty of time to input your information and do not leave it until the last minute in case you encounter any problems.
New applications:
Please be reminded where parents have not applied for a 30-hour code before the 31 December 2023 deadline, they will not be able to access the extended entitlement for the spring term 2024. However, this will not affect their ability to access the 15 hours per week universal funding.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that all 30-hour code start and end dates are checked for existing children, as well as children new to the setting, before offering a place to a child.
Failure to do so may result in providers meeting this cost, as parents should not be charged for something they have previously been informed will be delivered for free.
The following link will take you to YouTube video which offers guidance on how to Check a 30-hour code and determine eligibility
Reconfirmation of codes:
As you will be aware, parents need to reconfirm their eligibility code approximately every three months. Although it is the responsibility of the parents to reconfirm by the end date of the code, providers also have a responsibility to notify parents if they have fallen out of eligibility and encourage them to access their childcare account as a matter of urgency. Therefore, we advise that it is in the provider’s interest to encourage parents to regularly check their government gateway account to ensure they are aware of their reconfirmation deadlines. It is important parents DO NOT miss reconfirmation deadlines, as they may lose their funding for the term.
If a parent has questions about their application or difficulties with applying or reconfirming their code, they will need to contact the HMRC helpline on telephone: 0300 123 4097.
Grace Periods:
Providers will be aware of the grace period dates for each parent and should share these with parents who experience a change in eligibility status. Please be reminded to check eligibility dates carefully before agreeing a start date with parents.
We continue to receive e-mails from providers querying why codes are showing in their ‘Grace’ period but can be submitted on to the portal.
In this scenario, it appears providers are accessing information on the Summary page to ascertain the status of a 30-hour code.
The accuracy of the information held on the Summary page is dependent upon when an eligibility check was last undertaken. In order to access live data, which is in-line with the information the parent has access to, either:
- an eligibility check should be undertaken which links to the live data held with the Department for Education (DfE) or
- the blue ‘30 Hours Free Childcare’ button is submitted via Actuals submissions. This will then update to the most recent status of the child’s code.
Providers are also reminded that parents are unable to commence a 30-hours funded placement during a grace period. More information about grace periods can be found in the Statutory Guidance.
Thank you to all those providers (where applicable) that have signed and returned their provider agreement extension in readiness for the delivery of funded places from January 2024.
Where changes occur within the setting for example, change to the provision name, childminder name, address, telephone number, email address, business structure and changes to committee members and / or manager. Please remember to notify Ofsted and the local authority using the following e-mail addresses as any of these changes may require a new Provider Agreement:
Ofsted: enquiries@Ofsted.gov.uk
CS.enquiries.childminders@derbyshire.gov.uk
CS.enquiries.groupcare@derbyshire.gov.uk
CS.enquiries.schools@derbyshire.gov.uk
Please also remember to update your setting's details with the Families Information Service, telephone: email: info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk
As we are entering a new term, please be reminded that to receive DAF, parents must complete the Disability Access Fund declaration on the FE1 form and providers must ‘see and retain’ a copy of the letter confirming the child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
To receive funding for DAF, providers must tick the ‘Nominated for DAF’ box on the child’s funding details tab when completing actuals submissions via the provider portal.
For further information on DAF please access Child weightings explained – EYPP & DAF via SchoolsNet - Funding and contracts.
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If you are a contracted provider and would like to receive text reminders when the provider portal is open / closed, please ensure you notify us (and Ofsted of course!) of your mobile number.
Where the local authority has received a mobile number from your setting, this will automatically be included in the ‘Texting’ notifications.
Please let us know via email if you wish to be removed from this Service.
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