Provider FAQs for funded places

Think2 – providers should simply add Staffordshire codes to the Parent Declaration and Privacy Notice and claim in the next applicable headcount task.

Working Parent Entitlements - Providers must validate all eligibility before they can claim for the applicable funded hours. This is done via the online EY Portal account where you will also find user guides for validating codes and claiming.

The dates of the code being valid will not necessarily be when funding can start from. Providers must check and confirm when the funded hours start date commences.

Grace periods are and extended period of funding that families could receive if they fall out of eligibility for the Working Parent Entitlements. The table below outlines the parameters of grace periods.

Once the grace period has ended for 3 and 4 years, they will still be able to access the Universal Entitlement. Children aged 9 months to 2 years accessing the Working Parent Entitlements but who fall out of eligibility, will mean parents will have to pay for their childcare but can review if they could receive other support for childcare costs at Childcare choices

From 1st April 2025, funding rates for all early years providers, childminders and school run provision will be as follows.

All rates are applicable to the specified age range regardless of what entitlement a child is eligible for:

• Children under 2 years old - £9.85 per hour, per child - (rate up to 31st March 2025 - £9.48)
• 2-year-olds - £7.84 per hour, per child - (rate up to 31st March 2025 - £7.56)
• 3 and 4-year-olds - £5.43 per hour, per child - (rate up to 31st March 2025 - £5.08)

Deprivation supplement rates for 3 and 4-year-olds only will be as follows:

• £0.20 lower rate - (per hour, for every funded 3 and 4-year-old in attendance) if between 10-32% of funded children reside in attendance with postcodes in the 20% most deprived areas. From 1st April 2025, settings eligible for this could have an hourly rate of £5.63 per hour for 3 and 4-year-olds
• £0.30 higher rate - (per hour, for every funded 3 and 4 year-old-in attendance) if between 33-100% of funded children in attendance with postcodes in the 20% most deprived areas. From 1st April 2025, settings eligible for this could have an hourly rate of £5.73 per hour for 3 and 4-year-olds

The Contingency fund will continue for 2025 - 26, this is to mitigate financial risk and to manage any unforeseen budget variances as a result of changes in demand. This will be c. 0.9% of the overall budget.

Government guidance instructs local authorities that they must pass through at least 96% of their funding from the government to early years providers. From April 2025, Staffordshire County Council will ensure a budgeted funding pass-through rate of 97.8% to its Staffordshire based providers.

• across 38 weeks of the year - often aligned to school term times, but it does not have to be,
•  'stretch' offer which is over more weeks (than 38) of the year but for less funded hours per week as they are 'stretched' out,
• a mixture of both 38 weeks and stretch - providers can be flexible depending on the requirements of their families i.e. one child may have funding over 38 weeks, whereas another child could have funding as stretched.

Please note: a single child cannot be claimed as both 38 weeks and stretch, at the same setting/ site.

Additional guidance on flexibility: 

• Parents can only change from 38 week / term time offer to stretched (or vice versa) at the beginning of a new term.
• Providers must supply funded hours in the same manner as they claim it. For example: if funding is claimed for a child as 38 weeks, this is how the funded hours must be given to the family. Similarly, providers who claim funding a stretched must give funding to families as stretched.

Important: Providers should keep track of funding used up by a child when changing from stretch to term time funding or when a child has moved from another setting.

There could occasions when a child could use up their entitlement before the end of the third term in a 12 month period. This can occur when a child has changed from stretched to 38 week offer or vice versa. Parents have still had access to their entitlements but depending how a child access funding could be in some terms more funded hours are used up than the counterpart offer i.e. summer stretched could use up more funded hours than the 38 week offer, but in autumn term the 38 week offer could use up more funded hours than if supplied as stretched. 

For details and considerations around this please see the section for Understanding Funded Places on funding explained page

Funding can be supplied and claimed as follows:

• Spring term (1 January to 31 March) - '38 week' offer 11 Weeks / 'Stretch' offer 12 Weeks
• Summer term (1 April to 31 August) - '38 week' offer 13 Weeks / 'Stretch' offer 20 Weeks
• Autumn term (1 September to 31 December) - '38 week' offer 14 Weeks / 'Stretch' offer 16 Weeks

Funding offer in hours.

• The standard offer is calculated over 38 weeks can be claimed as: 
  > Universal/ Think2 offer - 15 hours per week 
  > 30 hours - 30 hours per week
  
  
• The stretch offer is often calculated over 48 weeks as:
  > universal hours/ Think2 - 11.88 hours per week
  > 30 hours at 23.75 hours  per week 

*Please note - families do not have to take up their full entitlement of hours.

Find details of the headcount and payment dates

No, providers can only claim for funded hours that have been agreed the child will attend for at the provision*. Parents are under no obligation to take up the full entitlement and may choose to use some hours with another provider. Providers can only claim from the date a child starts at the setting and is eligible for funded hours.

* Providers must supply funded hours from the outset of claiming for the child. Providers cannot hold back funding and charge parents in the meantime to then reimburse them at a later date (i.e. end of the term).

Providers must inform parents from the outset how the funded hours can be accessed and offered to parents. Providers must also clearly inform parents what their fees are for non funded services and consumables if the parent wishes to have these.

Providers can charge for (not an exclusive list)  food, snacks, transport, nappies, suncream, trips, extra activities, if these are accessed by the child. Parents must be advised of the charges from the outset of a funded place. 

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 30%* absence within a single term.

Providers can refer to the Staffordshire attendance policy ref absence explained, what the council will fund and actions providers can take

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.

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.