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Important: Where families have accepted a reception school place from September 2024, children are no longer able to access the early years entitlement funding with an early years’ provider.
Some schools choose to provide an induction period or a start date later in the term for reception class children to allow them the chance to settle in. Should a parent wish their child to access a place at your setting, due to their child’s school’s induction period, this must form part of a fee paid session.
Parents thinking of making a request for a delayed reception school admission should, in the first instance, discuss this with their child’s early years provider, prospective future headteacher and any other professionals involved as soon as possible.
If after discussion, parents wish to formally request the admission of their child outside the normal age group they should provide:
- an ‘Admissions Outside of the Normal Age Group’ form completed by the child’s early years provider/headteacher which includes information on the child’s abilities and development, how the child is performing against the recognised expected levels for their age group and the child’s social and emotional development. Forms are available on our website at Education outside the normal year group - Derbyshire County Council. To request form and Guidance documentation, please email transport@derbyshire.gov.uk;.
If you have a child in your setting in the autumn term 2024 whose fifth birthday falls between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025, please check that they have applied to the local authority and received approval to defer their reception-class place. If this is not the case, please provide them with the link below so they can make a request: admissions.transport@derbyshire.gov.uk
It is important to note: the child will only receive the early years’ entitlement funding until the term in which the child has their fifth birthday, whether parents have officially received approval to defer or not. Parents will need to pay for the place, where the child continues to attend an early years’ provision the term following their fifth birthday, as approval to defer does not guarantee the child will be funded beyond their fifth birthday.
The provider portal will be open from 09 – 22 September 2024 for the submission of funding data for Sept - Oct ‘Actuals’.
The provider portal now displays the headcounts as shown as below:
 Please ensure submissions in the headcounts represent the term after the child’s relevant birthday;
- 2 Year Olds = Term after the child’s second birthday
- 3- & 4-Year Olds = Term after the child’s third birthday
- 9 Months – 2 Year Olds = Term after the child reaches 9 months old
Important: Please be informed that when submitting Sept/Oct Actuals for children that were previously claimed as stretched, you will need to carry out the following actions via the child’s ‘Funding Details’ tab on the provider portal:
- Untick the stretched entitlement option
- Amend the number of weeks from 9 weeks to 7 weeks
The following error messages will appear if the stretched entitlement box remains ticked and the number of weeks are not altered.
 Once the above points have been actioned, you will be able to submit the actuals claims as term time only.
Please note: These errors will not affect new children or children previously claimed for on a term time basis. Term time only providers will also not be affected.
Where a parent starts a new job or is on shared parental, maternity, paternity, or adoption leave:
The date a parent starts a new job or returns to work, will affect when they can apply for a working family’s entitlement HMRC code and when they can access their funded place.
Please see the timeline below:
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Date of starting or
returning work
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When parent can apply from
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When a parent can access their entitlements from
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1 October to 31 January
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1 September to 31 December
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1 January
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1 February to 30 April
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1 January to 31 March
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1 April
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1 May to 30 September
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1 April to 31 August
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1 September
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For further information, please see the following guidance:
Check you're eligible for free childcare if you're working - GOV.UK
As previously notified, following the recent upgrade to the Synergy system, and in readiness for the new 9-months funding headcount, we have moved to one headcount for two-year-olds, this is to help mitigate the administrative burden to providers. As a result, the base hourly rate for estimates for both assessment-based and working family eligibility criteria will be paid at £7.21 per hour per child.
As estimates are paid entirely based on number of hours, the deprivation weighting of £0.32 is unable to be included at estimates due to payments not being associated to individual children. This means that where providers have included assessment-based hours at estimates, the additional weighting of £0.32 per hour per child will automatically be applied at the actuals payment during the week commencing 14 October 2024.
This is only applicable when payments are made on estimated hours at the start of each term.
*Not applicable for Governor Run and maintained schools, as ‘estimated’ hours are not submitted.
Please be reminded that from September 2024, ALL early years’ funding claims must be submitted onto the provider portal as a term-time claim.
Important: Providers can still meet the individual needs of families by delivering the funded hours over the period the provision is open.
Guidance documentation / tools to support providers to monitor and calculate the delivery of stretched funded hours is available on SchoolsNet, using the following link: Funding and contracts (derbyshire.gov.uk)
Please be reminded that parents must have applied for their HMRC working family code, the term prior to which they wish to access the working family entitlement funding:
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Apply for code before
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Eligible to start
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31 March
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Summer Term (after Easter Holidays)
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31 August
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Autumn Term (September)
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31 December
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Spring Term (January)
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The local authority does not have discretionary funds to secure additional funded hours where the parent has applied or reconfirmed after the 31 March, 31 August or 31 December deadline dates, or for codes issued after the relevant dates listed in the Statutory Guidance.
Important: Therefore, for a child to access a funded place for the autumn 2024 term, eligible HMRC codes must have a start date prior to 31 August and an end date after
01 September.
Providers are reminded that children should NOT start a new working parent entitlement funded place at a provider during the ‘grace period’ date of the code.
Although parents are responsible for ensuring their details are up to date through their childcare account every three months, it is in the providers best interest to remind parents NOT to go into their grace period.
Please note: It is imperative that providers check that ALL HMRC codes (for both new and existing parents) are valid on the provider portal before offering a place to the child in order to avoid parents being issued with an unexpected invoice for childcare that the provider initially agreed would be funded.
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.
For your information - HMRC 11-digit eligibility codes:
- Extended and expanded funding eligibility codes usually start with 50.
- A temporary eligibility code will start with 11.
- For children in foster care, 30 hours eligibility codes usually start with 40.
School nurseries can take ‘rising threes’ from the start of the term in which the child has their third birthday. Schools must operate on a 1:5 ratio until the child has reached their third birthday, after which the 1:13 ratio applies, this is in line with the Early Years Statutory Framework for group and school based providers - January 2024, page 29 - 30.
Schools should also ensure that staff working in EYFS provision have the relevant qualifications and experience to be included within staff ratios, these can be checked using the DfE full and relevant qualification list (see footnotes 22 and 24 on page 29).
Schools can access early years entitlement funding for families eligible for the two-year-old funding until the end of the term in which the child turns three years of age.
The Childcare Choices website provides information on the childcare offers which are available to support families with the cost of childcare, please contact the Families Information Service if your families would like support with the childcare offers available on Tel: 01629 535793 or by email: info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk.
Providers are reminded of the process, prior to this annual funding supplement being paid:
- the DAF box should only be ticked for children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
- the DLA letter must be seen and retained securely by the provider.
- the 9-digit reference number (displayed on the child’s DLA letter) must be submitted on the provider portal (child’s ‘Notes’ tab).
- the 9-digit reference number should also be included on the FE1 / Parent Declaration Form.
Important: If the DLA reference number is not entered on to the provider portal, as evidence for this funding, DAF funding will not be paid.
NO reference number - NO payment.
This free, online course, developed by the Small Business Charter, explains the essential business concepts required for enabling growth and sustainability in the sector and guides providers through:
- Strategic business thinking
- Understanding the target market
- Developing effective go-to-market strategies
This is ideal for those new to business management or seeking a refresher, this resource equips providers with valuable tools to strengthen their operations and enhance service delivery.
Please use the following link to access this free business support: Help to Grow: Management Essentials.
To ensure that funding claims are submitted within the published timescales, the local authority recommends that more than one person (where applicable), working within the provision is nominated to have access to the provider portal. This will help to prevent missed submissions due to sickness or leave.
Where there is a change to the nominated person who has access to the portal, please ensure you notify us as soon as possible to ensure their access can be removed and a new nominee reallocated.
Therefore, please access the following link: SchoolsNet - Funding and contracts where you will find a copy of the Provider Portal User Access Form. Providers should complete Section 2 – ‘Staff Leavers and Starters’ and return the form to the following relevant email address:
cs.enquiries.childminders@derbyshire.gov.uk
cs.enquiries.groupcare@derbyshire.gov.uk
cs.enquiries.schools@derbyshire.gov.uk
Locked out of the portal?
If you find yourself locked out of the provider portal or have forgotten your password, contact the Families Information Service by emailing: info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk where you will be sent, via email, a password re-set.
Important: To comply with GDPR regulations, please ensure passwords are kept safe and not shared with anybody. Passwords are unique to each specific user.
DfE are running a series of roadshow events for early years’ providers across the regions in England. These events offer a unique opportunity to engage with DfE directly and to share views on the entitlements expansion and other areas of early education and childcare policy.
The next events will be held at: 12th September – Plymouth (click here to register) 10th October – Liverpool (click here to register)
07th November – Newcastle (click here to register)
The event is targeted at group-based setting managers who have, or will have, a role or interest in providing additional places as a result of government’s childcare expansion. Please encourage providers to attend the event in your conversations.
Further details will be sent upon registering, including confirmation of registration.
The Early Years Finance team continue to receive queries from parents seeking clarification on what their entitlement is when accessing the early years funding.
Important: All providers delivering the early years entitlements must adhere to the Early education and childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and also to the terms and conditions outlined in the local authority’s Provider Agreement (where applicable) signed by early years providers. Providers must adhere to these agreed specifications at all times when delivering the funded hours. Providers who fail to comply with these requirements, are likely to have funding payments withheld by the local authority or be removed from the Directory of Providers.
As we are all aware, the cost of living is impacting on long-term sustainability therefore, providers may be considering increasing their fees, implementing additional charges or reviewing their model of delivery. In all circumstances, providers must continue to adhere to the following:
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must not charge the parents/carers of funded children, higher rates for additional hours or meals that result in them not benefitting from the early entitlement funding. All parents/carers must see a reduction in their monthly childcare costs.
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cannot charge parents/carers “top-up” fees (the difference between a provider’s normal charge to parents/carers and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver funded places) and cannot charge a registration fee to parents/carers who are only accessing a funded place.
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must not charge parents/carers of children accessing the early years entitlements a service/administration charge to cover business costs eg on-line registers, accommodation, qualified teaching staff, staff training, learning journals etc.
- Independent Schools must be mindful of the impact of additional charges on parents/carers. This may result in waiving the registration fee and uniform charges for funded children in nursery, pre-prep, and reception classes.
- Independent Schools offering the early years entitlements to eligible children in Reception Classes must show the funded hours as free on parent invoices.
Government funding is intended to cover the cost of delivering 15 or 30 funded hours a week of free, high quality, flexible childcare which meets the requirements of the EYFS. It is not intended to cover the cost of meals, additional hours, additional services, or some consumables. Parents/carers must benefit financially from the early years’ entitlement funding.
Therefore, providers can charge for meals and snacks as part of an early years’ entitlement funded place and can also charge for consumables, such as nappies or sun cream, and for services such as trips and specialist tuition. Parents should therefore expect to pay for these, although providers should be mindful of the impact of additional charges on parents, especially the most disadvantaged. Providers, who choose to offer the early years’ entitlements, are responsible for setting their own policy on providing parents with options for alternatives to additional charges, including allowing parents to supply their own meals or nappies, or waiving or reducing the cost of meals and snacks.
We have received a number of queries from parents where providers are charging for consumable items. Please be reminded, as reflected in the Statutory Guidance, it is not acceptable to charge for items, that are required to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Therefore, providers must not include the following in consumable charges:
Pencils
Felt tip pens
Crayons
Paper and card
Paint
Paint brushes
PVA glue and glue sticks
Books
Puzzles
Educational equipment
Toys
As the following items are administration/service charges to cover business costs, providers must not include these in a consumables charge:
Heating and lighting
Hand soap
Paper towels
Toilet roll
Hand gel
Cleaning products
Providers must also ensure parents are not charged for the core costs of running a business that delivers government-funded childcare, as these are not consumables used by the child or additional services provided to the child. These include, but are not limited to, insurance, Ofsted registration, maintenance, business rates, training costs, rent and energy bills.
The items listed above are examples and does not provide an exhaustive list.
To increase fees without this impacting too greatly on parents, providers should consider making parents aware of the Government’s funding schemes such as Tax-Free Childcare.
Delivery Models
Providers can determine how they offer the early years entitlement, including the patterns of delivery. Please ensure your policies / information are clear and transparent to parents around the hours to be claimed, the pattern of delivery and any additional charges. These should be discussed and agreed with parents before they sign a contract (FE1 form) to take up a funded place.
Providers are also required to include in their admissions policy / information how they offer funded hours, including the number of funded only places, if applicable.
Invoicing:
Early years’ providers must ensure their invoices and receipts are clear, transparent, and itemised, allowing parents/carers to see they have received their early years entitlement completely free of charge and fully understand fees paid for additional hours or services. Early years’ providers must ensure that receipts contain their full details so they can be identified as being issued by a specific early years’ provider.
Early years’ providers must be completely transparent about any additional charges.
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 email 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
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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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