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A key emphasis around the updated Department for Education (DfE) Early education and childcare (effective from 1 April 2025) - GOV.UK Statutory Guidance is transparency in how the entitlements are passed on to parents.
Providers should ensure the information available to parents is clear and transparent prior to offering a funded place, to support parents to make an informed choice of provider and to ensure they understand when they can access their child’s funded hours.
Provider’s policies and procedures must be clear and transparent for parents, along with any optional services and charges. Whilst providers are able to charge for extras, these must be voluntary for parents/carers in relation to the funded entitlement hours. Children accessing the funded entitlements should receive the same quality and access to provision as non-funded children. The DfE have stated that they are not seeking to stop providers from being able to charge for voluntary extras, however, in line with a recent High Court judgment, charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place. This has always been the case. The DfE have also stated that they are not encouraging parents to opt out, as many parents prefer to purchase consumables from their provider. However, the guidance is clear that providers should be mindful of the impact of charges on families, particularly the most disadvantaged.
What can be charged for? (A1.33 Statutory Guidance):
- Consumables to be used by the child, such as nappies or sun cream
- Meals and snacks consumed by the child
- Extra optional activities such as events, celebrations, specialist tuition (for example music classes or foreign languages) or other activities that are not directly related or necessary for the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework
- Additional Private Hours
What can’t be charged for? (A1.41 Statutory Guidance):
The following in connection with the entitlement hours:
- Top-up fees (any difference between a provider’s normal charge to parents and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver free places)
- The supply of or use of any materials, including, but not limited to, craft materials, crayons, paper, books, instruments, toys, or other equipment or learning resources that are necessary for the effective delivery of childcare
- Business running costs, including, but not limited to, rent, staff wages, cleaning materials, insurance, or utility bills such as energy, gas or water
- Registration fees as a condition of taking up a child’s free entitlement place
- Non-refundable deposits as a condition of taking up a child’s entitlement place
- General charges, including but not limited to, non-itemised enrichment charges, sustainability charges, business continuity charges, charges for enhanced ratios, or any other supplementary charges on top of the free hours
- Any additional fees that are not specifically identified and itemised as being for chargeable extras as described in A1.33.
A1.32 of the Statutory Guidance states that government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high quality, flexible childcare. The 15 or 30 hours must be able to be accessed free of charge to parents. There must not be any mandatory charges for parents in relation to the free hours. Government funding is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.
Providers are able to set their own models of delivery for the early years entitlement funding, whilst ensuring they are in-line with the updated DfE Statutory Guidance.
The charging section of the Guidance can be found in paragraphs A1.33 – A1.44, which states that local authorities should ensure that providers are aware that they can charge parents for meals and snacks consumed by the child in connection with the funded hours, but these charges must be voluntary for the parent.
Furthermore, it makes clear that parents must be able to opt out of paying for chargeable extras, such as meals and snacks (A1.37). It also states that providers who choose to offer the funded entitlements are responsible for setting a policy that includes providing parents with options for alternatives to any additional charges. This policy must offer reasonable alternatives that allow parents to access the entitlement for free, including allowing parents to supply their own meals and snacks, or waiving the cost of these items (A1.38) and that in all cases, chargeable extras must not be a condition of taking up a funded place (A1.39). The guidance also makes clear that providers should be mindful of the impact of charges on families, particularly the most disadvantaged. All parents, including disadvantaged families, must have fair access to a funded place.
In relation to food safety, there is a requirement within the EYFS that states: ‘Before a child is admitted to the setting the providers must obtain information about any special dietary requirement, preferences, and food allergies that the child has’. From September 2025 the DfE intend to strengthen the requirements around safer eating and in addition to require that all settings must have ongoing discussion with parents regularly and where appropriate health professionals to develop allergy action plans for managing any known allergies and intolerances. Providers will also be required to ensure that all staff are aware of symptoms and treatments for allergies and anaphylaxis. The DfE encourages settings to refer to the NHS advice on food allergies to support these arrangements.
There is already a requirement in the EYFS that children must always be within sight and hearing of a member of staff whilst eating. From September 2025, the DfE intend to strengthen this requirement so that where possible, a member of staff should sit facing children whilst they eat so they can make sure children are eating in a way to prevent choking and so they can prevent food sharing and be aware of any unexpected allergic reactions.
These requirements do not, and should not, prevent settings from allowing parents to bring in their own packed lunches or snacks. However, settings may choose to produce a ‘packed lunch policy’ regarding what food is, and is not, permitted. Providers are free to set their own packed lunch policy, but this must comply with equality legislation. A packed lunch policy is to ensure all children are being offered healthy and nutritious food, to reduce choking risks, and to help prevent allergic reactions for children who may have airborne food allergies.
For full information and requirements, settings should refer to the EYFS, including the strengthened requirements which are expected to come into force from September 2025 and can be found in the Early Years Foundation Stage safeguarding reforms - consultation response.
Providers, including childminders, may wish to agree a termly arrangement with parents prior to that term commencing regarding the additional hours or consumables purchased, to aid with business planning and provide for stability of income, as long as charges are not mandatory. This may include asking parents to decide on a term-by-term basis whether they want to opt in or out of any charges for food, consumables or additional services.
A1.35 The costs of chargeable extras should be published on provider websites or, where they do not have any website*, on local authority Family Information Services (by January 2026). These should be clear, up-to-date and easily accessible to parents, to enable parents to make an informed choice of provider. They should set out, for each setting, the amounts charged for all the chargeable extras listed, as well as the pattern of hours that parents can take the entitlements …….
*Please see the DfE’s guidance document to support with this: Chargeable_extras_.docx
- Charges should be published
- Invoices should be broken down
- No mandatory charges
- Clarity on consumables
- No artificial breaks
- Updates to reflect the expansion
- Updates following Ofsted changes
A1.36 of the guidance also sets out the categories providers are expected to break their costs down into to emphasise transparency of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that any costs should be clear on invoices and websites.
However, for these new transparency expectations, the guidance allows a lead-in time until January 2026 to give providers time to adapt:
- The entitlement hours (with no charge);
- Additional private paid hours;
- Food charges;
- Non-food consumables charges;
- Activities charges.
As long as the categories of optional chargeable extras are clear and transparent, including how many early years entitlement hours parents are getting per day / per week, a pragmatic approach to aggregating costs can be taken and every single individual cost does not need to be itemised.
Invoices and receipts should include the provider’s full details so that they can be identified as coming from a specific provider.
The local authority’s updated Provider Agreement (April 2025) includes supporting invoice templates.
Parents should be encouraged to utilise the government’s Tax-Free Childcare (if eligible) to support with their optional chargeable extras.
PLEASE NOTE
As part of compliance checks, the local authority will be liaising with providers to request sight of their information to parents / fee structure to ensure documentation is in line with the DfE’s Statutory Guidance and signed Provider Agreement. This will help protect providers from potential parental challenge.
Finance, early years entitlement funding, contracts & funding audit
please contact via the appropriate email below:
The Early Years Quality Team
Email: CS.EYS@derbyshire.gov.uk
OR Telephone: 01629 532876 leave your name, setting, contact details plus a short message and we will get back to you
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