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The DfE Early Years Census data collection will be taking place next week, w/c 15 January 2024. It is a statutory duty to complete the annual Census within the publicised timescales and deadlines.
Census Day: Thursday 18 January 2024
If you are a childminder, nursery, pre-school, out of school club, nursery unit of an independent school or governor run school, you will be receiving an e-mail about this from the Families Information team which includes an explanation about how to complete the on-line form via the provider portal.
It is vital that your Census information is submitted by Census Day: Thursday 18 January 2024.
Please note: You are only required to complete the online Census form IF you have funded children attending your provision during Census week. You should record the normal situation during week beginning 15 January 2024. If children are temporarily absent, for example, sick or on holiday, you should include them. If your provision is temporarily closed, record the situation which would have applied during the week.
If you DO NOT have any funded children attending your provision during Census week, please confirm this by e-mailing: info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk to avoid being chased for your return.
If you do not submit your Census return, the early entitlement funding will be withheld.
Please ensure you complete the online form for your data submission via the provider portal.
For further information about the DfE Census, please refer to the link below:
Early years census - Census dates - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It is extremely important that all children attending your provision for a funded place are included on the January / February 2024 Actuals submission. The Department for Education (DfE) allocates funding to local authorities for the early years’ entitlements based upon the information submitted by providers via the provider portal at this point in the year. This is the only funding that the local authority will have available to make payments for the forthcoming year. The local authority cannot ask for additional funding from the DfE if more is required during each term e.g., following providers missed funding claims.
Your submission must reflect the actual attendance of all funded children, their hours and weeks of attendance. It is essential that the ‘present during census box’ on the funding details tab is ticked for those children registered with you during the week commencing 15 January 2024, and that all children no longer in attendance are deleted from your ‘Actuals’ screen.
Please be reminded that the provider portal will be open until Sunday 21 January 2023 for the submission of January / February 2024 Actuals.
Once all the information has been submitted, please remember to click ‘Send Claim’.
You will see a green tick when your claim has been submitted.
If you experience any difficulties in submitting your data, please refer to the useful guidance information on the SchoolsNet - Funding and contracts tile in the first instance. If you continue to experience difficulties, please e-mail:
cs.enquiries.groupcare@derbyshire.gov.uk;
cs.enquiries.childminders@derbyshire.gov; cs.enquiries.schools@derbyshire.gov.uk and an Officer will make contact with you. Due to the volume of queries being received, please allow the Officer time to respond.
The Department for Education (DfE) ask local authorities to collect details on children’s ethnicity. This data is reported back to the DfE in the census collection.
Please ensure the correct ethnicity option is selected for each child, on the ‘child details’ tab, prior to submitting funding claims on the portal.
Where a parent has not completed this on their FE1 form, please choose the relevant option from the dropdown list on the portal.
The local authority has been informed by the Department for Education that parents with a Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) account will need to wait until their reconfirmation window before they are able to apply for the two-year-old expanded funding.
We are aware that there are some families whose reconfirmation window may not be available until March 2024, and they therefore will not be able to receive a code for the two-year-old funding until this time. Please can we ask you to be mindful of this when requesting codes from parents as we prepare for the implementation of the expanded offer.
All TFC confirmation windows should be prior to the 31 March 2024, however if you have a family where there reconfirmation window opens beyond 31 March 2024, please email: CS.SufficiencyService@derbyshire.gov.uk.
Please be reminded when claiming DAF for eligible children, on the provider portal, to ensure you retain evidence of the Disability Living Allowance letter (DLA) which displays a unique reference number for the child.
Local authority notification:
Should you need to close your provision due to flooding, illness, snow, or an unforeseen circumstance, please ensure you notify the funding team via the relevant in-box:
CS.enquiries.childminders@derbyshire.gov.uk
CS.enquiries.groupcare@derbyshire.gov.uk
CS.enquiries.schools@derbyshire.gov.uk
Along with the quality team via: CS.EYS@derbyshire.gov.uk
Ofsted notification:
For closures of three days or more please be reminded that there is also a requirement to notify Ofsted.
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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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