For absence or sporadic attendance; providers are not required to inform the council of absence (unless there is a welfare concern) until a child has reached 20 full days of absence (whether over consecutive or sporadic days), or 40%* absence within a single term.
The provider must inform the EEF Finance Team when the 21st day (or 41%) of absence has occurred within the term.
Upon reviewing the reasons for absence, the Council will then determine if funding can be extended to cover continued and legitimate reasons for absence. However, we have discretion to remove or adjust funding if there is no valid reason for absence that has gone beyond the parameters of absence.
Providers are encouraged to discuss with parents about the importance of children attending for the hours that have been claimed for the child. Providers can refer to the Staffordshire attendance policy ref absence.
If a child leaves the provision outright; the provider can inform the EEF Team, or the provider must reflect the leaving date in the next amendment or actual task for the term. Any overclaims will be claimed back by the Council as funding will always follow the child.