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We know that many of you are actively promoting the Early Years’ Entitlements within your settings. However, the Families Information Service have received some enquiries from parents whose children are already attending settings.
As you will be aware, the expansion to Early Years’ Entitlements reaches the final stage of the rollout in September where eligible working families will be entitled to 30 hours of funded childcare from the term after their child turns 9 months old or over.
The Assessment Based Funding for Two-Year-Olds remains in place for eligible families regardless of the changes to funding for working families.
Please could providers ensure that they are informing families of the support they may be able to receive towards their childcare costs and go through these entitlements with parents before they accept a place and begin attending. This will prevent any unexpected bills for parents who weren’t clear on the eligibility criteria or the process for applying for either the Assessment Based Two-Year-Old funding or the Funding for Working Families.
Providers should inform parents their options through the use of their website, posters displayed in their settings, newsletters and social media where applicable. If you would like a copy of the Parent Poster to display in your setting, please email info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk.
The Families Information Service is available to assist parents in checking their eligibility for the Assessment Based Two-Year-Old funding and can provide support in applying for the Funding for Working Families through HMRC. Please direct parents to contact us via email at info.fis@derbyshire.gov.uk or telephone 01629 535793. Parents or providers can also find out about the different funding streams on our website: https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/FIS
The Childcare Choices website has a Frequently Asked Questions document which you may find useful to support parents: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/guidance-and-resources/guidance-zone.
Please ensure that ALL HMRC code start and end dates are checked for new children wishing to access a place at the setting, before offering a place to a child, ensuring the start date is relevant to the term in which the child will be commencing their funded place.
Eligibility start dates:
31 December to take up a place during the term beginning 1 January (spring term)
31 March to take up a place during the term beginning 1 April (summer term)
31 August to take up a place during the term beginning 1 September (autumn term)
For new children wishing to access a funded place, please be reminded that where parents have not applied for an HMRC code before the deadline date, for example:
31 March 2025, they will not be able to access the entitlement funding for the following term - in this case summer term 2025.
To ensure eligibility for the following term, please also be reminded to ensure HMRC codes are regularly checked for existing children.
As you are aware, the yellow shield on the ECS checker shows that a code has been matched (found). However, it does not necessarily mean that a code is in date for the relevant term. The yellow shield acts as a visual aid to remind providers to then check that the code is valid for the relevant term.
Please be extra vigilant when checking the eligibility of a code, to ensure it is compatible for the relevant term in which the child is to access their funded place. This will ensure you don’t encounter problems when submitting data on to the provider portal.
Please note: It is imperative that providers check that all 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.
April / May 2025 ‘Actuals’
The provider portal will be open: Saturday 29 March – Sunday 27 April 2025
Please ensure data is submitted accurately on to the system and all children’s hours are included.
If you do not submit your information by this deadline, you will not receive your funding during the normal payment timescale. Financial Services are not able to make bespoke payments where submissions have been missed.
March 2025 ‘Adjustments’
The provider portal will be open: Saturday 29 March – Sunday 27 April 2025 for ‘Adjustments’ submissions to enable you to include any changes which occurred during the March 2025 periods.
Important: Can we please remind providers that ‘Adjustments’ submissions are for children who increase/decrease their hours or start/leave a provision following the closure of Actuals. Adjustments should not be used as an alternative to 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, ensuring you include your name, name of the setting, contact details and relevant information to your query.
Please be reminded, as per the funding calendar, that the ‘unfunded week’ for term time children is next week, w/c: 31 March – 06 April 2025.
Please refer to your signed Provider Agreement for the delivery of the early year’s entitlement funding, which states:
11.5 If a provider is opening on Inset Days, they can offer these as funded sessions and charge parents/carers for the ‘unfunded week’ or charge for the Inset Day and offer funded sessions during the ‘unfunded week’.
Please be reminded that in line with the recently updated Statutory Guidance, costs for optional chargeable extras should be published by January 2026 on provider’s websites or, where a website is not available, published on the local authority’s Family Information Services.
Please see the following link for the DfE’s chargeable extras template to support with setting out costs on your website: Chargeable_extras_.docx.
Important: 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
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 e-mail 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.
Please remember to access the SchoolsNet - Funding and contracts tile where you will find a suite of step-by-step guidance and information to help you submit funding data on to the provider portal.
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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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