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Broadcast for Early Years and childcare providers in West Sussex from West Sussex County Council
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Friday 14 January 2022
Today, 14 January 2022, we received additional supporting documentation from the Department for Education for the Early Years Census 2022.
New guidance, Coronavirus-related support for submitting an Early Years Census 2022 return, shows providers can continue to claim Free Entitlement funding for children where a child's place is genuinely 'available' and supports the current guidance already published on Gov.UK.
Full details can be read in the guidance document but a summary of the key points is as follows:
What can be claimed for:
- Where a child is reasonably expected to attend Early Years provision, and that provision is made available to them by the provider, their expected hours should be recorded in the Early Years Census, where signed Parental Declarations are in place on or before 20 January 2022. This means children who, were it not for the impact of COVID-19 on either their own personal circumstances or on the operation of their Early Years setting, would be attending Early Years provision. This only includes children who have previously attended the provision and children who were expected to start attending the provision in January. Please read full guidance for list of other exceptions.
- The provider has attempted to remain open, but has temporarily closed for a period of time for reasons such as: staff shortages due to illness/self-isolation/caring for own child or other dependent who is ill or needs to self-isolate.
- The provider has been advised to close by local public health authorities due to an outbreak at the provider.
What cannot be claimed for:
- A provider has chosen to close and not provided the entitlements due to limited anticipated attendance or staff caution.
- Where the provider has chosen to restrict the attendance of some children for reasons other than those outlined in the guidance, please do not make a return for children for whom the entitlements are not being offered. If this applies to your setting you must contact the Family Information Service to discuss any potential impact on funding.
If you have already submitted your headcount and Census form, thank you - but any changes required as a result of this updated guidance, should be made via the Online Provider Portal.
If you have a query, please email free.entitlement@westsussex.gov.uk, or call the Family Information Service 01243 777807.
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