Provider FAQs for funded places

Parents who access the following funded entitlements will still be access their hours regardless of a change of family circumstances or household income:

• Think2 – 15 funded hours for 2 year olds - for disadvantaged or low income families. Once eligibility is confirmed families do not lose funding and they will receive this until the child becomes eligible for the Universal Hours for 3 and 4 year olds.
  
  
• Universal Hours 15 hours for 3 and 4 year olds – all 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to this funding which also includes children who have moved to England from another country.

Parents who access the Working Parent Entitlements could fall out of eligibility if they no longer meet the criteria or parents have not reconfirmed their code through *their online account.

• Working Parent Entitlements – 30 hours for children aged from 9 months to (and including) 2 year olds – parents who fall out of eligibility could lose all their funded hours and would be required to pay childcare costs at their early years provider.
  
  
• Working Parent Entitlements – 30 hours for children for 3 and 4 year olds - parents who fall out of eligibility could lose the 15 hours of their working parent entitlement and may have to pay forchildcare on the funded hours lost, but will still be able to access the funded universal 15 hours.

• *Foster Cares will be prompted to reconfirm by the Council.
  
  
• Grace period - families who fall out of eligibility receive a 'grace period' of funding. This is a few additional weeks of funding after eligibility has lapsed that could help parents time to seek employment or re-confirm their code with Childcare Choices. Find out more.
  

Families who fall out of eligibility of the Working Parent Entitlement should refer to Best Start for Life to see if any other support is available to help with childcare costs.

Families who pay for additional childcare over and above the funded hours can use other support to help pay towards childcare costs i.e. Tax Free Childcare.

Families who have successfully applied must reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months and a reminder will be sent .gov.uk* or they could lose their eligibility to the working parent entitlements.

Parents should receive reminders from .gov.uk up to a month before the code expires to reconfirm their code and would need to log into their gateway account to reconfirm.

* Foster carers will be prompted by the responsible local authority.

Children would not be eligible for funding through the Working Parent Entitlements at a Provider if the family are already in the grace period. This includes the following scenarios:

• Where a Parent falls into their grace period before the child starts their place/ their funded hours.
• Where a Parent falls into their grace period whilst their child is attending a Provider for their entitlement, and the parent then moves the child to a different provider whilst in their grace period.

These scenarios are also applicable when a Provider submits a claim for a child who was eligible at the time, but the child entered the grace period later and before starting their funded hours.

In exceptional circumstances, The Council has the discretion to extend the “grace period” for a short time, i.e.

• if the provider closes or receives an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate and the local authority withdraws funding - for state funded schools inspected after 2 September 2024 this means an Ofsted inspection judgement of requiring significant improvement or special measures
• the parent(s) moves home as a result of domestic abuse or any other emergency situation.

Providers should advise the EEF Finance team in such cases.

• no more than a maximum of 10 funded hours in a day
  • 15 hours entitlements can be taken in no less than across 2 days
  • 30 hour entitlements can be taken in no less than across 3 days
• no set minimum amount of funded hours that need to be offered in a single day.
• offered between the hours of 6:00am to 8:00pm - Monday to Friday
• can be offered at weekends
• a maximum of 2 sites in a single day
• over up to 52 weeks of the year if the parent is stretching their child’s entitlement
• outside of maintained school term dates and times

Continuous blocks and artificial breaks

Early years providers should ensure that children are able to take up their funded hours in continuous blocks if they wish to, and avoid artificial breaks being created throughout the day.

For example a provider should not offer 10am to midday and 1pm to 3pm as entitlement hours and offer only private paid hours in between such as over a lunchtime period.

Should funded hours be offered on certain days or times?

There is no requirement that funded places must be taken on, or delivered on, particular days of the week or at particular times of the day, but providers are encouraged to be as flexible as possible and listen to the needs of parents where reasonable, particularly working parents.

Can funded hours be compressed?

No, funded hours cannot be compressed. This means that a parent cannot take more than 15 or 30 hours per week over fewer than 38 weeks of the year. However, a parent can choose a provider that is open for fewer than 38 weeks of the year and therefore receive 15 or 30 hours a week during fewer weeks.

Full details of term and payments funding is used can be  found on our advice 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

Funded offer in hours per week.

• The standard offer is calculated over 38 weeks can be claimed as: 

• Think2 for disadvantaged 2 year olds - 15 hours per week 
•  Universal hours for 3 and 4 year olds/ offer - 15 hours per week 
• Working Parent Entitlement - 30 hours per week
  
  
• The stretch offer is often calculated over 48 weeks as:
  • Universal hours and Think2 - 11.88 hours per week
  • 30 hours - is at 23.75 hours per week 

Payments for the stretch offer can only be claimed and paid over 48 weeks of the year. However, providers can still offer stretch over a different number of weeks per year (i.e. 50, 51....). If  providers stretch offer does differ the provider will need to calcuate the amount of funded hours parents receive per week (compared to the 23.75 hours per week as 48 weeks as paid by the council).

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

Find details of the headcount and payment dates

Yes, parents can choose to split funding between multiple providers of any type (including school based provision), but no more than across two sites in a single day.

Parents must decide which provider/s claim for what amount of hours and the parent has sole discretion as to which provider claims for the extended hours in a split arrangement in line with and acceptance of a providers' funded offer and availability.

Providers are encouraged to ensure parents understand that if they are splitting their funded hours between more than one provider the relevant field in the parent declaration must be completed.

If providers find out later that a parent is splitting funded hours with another provider and were unaware of this (as parent had not advise) it could that providers may need to have the initial funding claim adjusted. if there were to occur parents will be liable for any charges at the provider/s against the amount of any funded hours re-claimed by the council.

In scenarios where the council are asked to resolve a dispute between providers regarding split funding claims about the amount of funded hours providers should receive, the council will normally align claims with child attendance at providers.

Where a child attends providers for an equal amount of hours or there is not enough evidence to confirm which amount of funded hours should be allocated to which provider (i.e. no parent declaration completed to agreed funded hours with parent), the council may split funding as 50/50 (between two providers) so long as a child has attended for the applicable amount of funded hours at each provider.

Early years providers can charge parents for additional hours that children access over and above the funded entitlement, or for the hours that a provider does not offer as funded hours.

However, it must not be mandatory for parents to purchase additional hours just to gain access to their funded entitlement.

Providers are reminded they have the discretion on what days/ hours funding is offered but should listen to the needs of parents where it is reasonably practicable and that it must be made clear from the outset to parents what days/ hours are provided as funded and which are not (if applicable).

What can providers charge for:

Funded hours only covers the hours a child attends for education, it does not cover the costs of food, other consumables, additional hours or additional services and therefore providers can charge for these if they are accessed or attended for by a child.

But it must not be a mandatory condition that parents must purchase additional services or extras just to gain access to their funded entitlement. Parents must be able to opt out of paying for chargeable extras and the associated consumable or activity for their child.

For activities and extra services, providers should be made aware that participation in any optional extra activity should be on the basis of parental choice and a willingness to meet the charges. In these circumstances, local authorities should ensure that children who do not participate in optional activities continue to receive provision that complies with the EYFS.

When parents do access chargeable extras the provider must advise them of all charges from the outset of a funded place.

Voluntary charges and considerations:

Providers can charge for the following:

• 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.

Some parents may wish for a voluntary opt in for payments related to charges for the above. 

Providers can charge for additional hours over and above a families funded entitlement. Parents would be expected to pay for additional hours that child attends for and there is no expectation that such charges should be a voluntary opt in.

What if the funded rate is more than what a provider normally charges?

Providers should consider if it is appropriate to charge parents (for items in the above bullet points) if a provider receives more through the funding rate than they would normally charge parents, particularly if some parents ask to opt out of paying for meals, consumables and so on. 

For some providers, the funding rate they receive can be higher than what they would normally charge parents (before the funded hours), this has been applicable for under 2s and 2 year old funded rates. In such cases providers should strongly consider waiving certain charges that are 'voluntary' opt in when the funding amount received exceeds the providers' normal day/ or hourly charge.

Setting policies for charges

Providers who choose to offer the funded entitlements are responsible for setting a policy which could give parents the choice of alternatives options to additional charges. Any policy offering reasonable alternatives should allow parents to still access the funded entitlements, including allowing parents to supply their own, or waiving the cost of these items.

Providers should be mindful of the impact of charges on families, particularly those receiving additional forms of government (financial) support such as children who are eligible for Think2.

What providers should not charge for and Top ups:

The Department for Education advises in their guidance that providers do not charge for:

• Top-up fees (any difference between a provider’s normal charge to parents and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver funded 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, additional charges, enhanced ratios, hourly rates, or any other supplementary charges on top of the funded hours (unless parents agree to "voluntary" pay for these).

Advertising charges

By January 2026, providers will be required to share their funded offer and fee information to parents, on websites, or social media but it can also be supplied via fee sheets, or a prospectus. The Council supply free advertising for providers on the local authority web site: Staffordshire Connects and other licensed channels.

Staffordshire Connects could be most useful for providers without websites.

Providers who have less than 10 funded children are exempt from this fee advertising, but we advise providers it is still good practice. Providers can register on Staffordshire Connects website.

Providers remain able to charge parents for meals and snacks provided to a child. The Department for Education is not encouraging parents to opt out.

However, in line with the legislation and recent court judgments a parent taking up food options at a childcare provide or being charged for it must not be mandatory, and alternatives must be made available to parents particularly where affordability could be an issue for some families ( i.e. children accessing Think2). 

An option could be to allow parents to supply their own packed lunches for their children or by providers supplying cheaper alternatives. Providers who decide to explore this but may not have previously offered the option of parents providing packed lunches, should consider the following in relation to all food and meals:

• Dietary information: Providers must obtain information on dietary requirements of the children who will attend their provision and adhere to the requirements around safer eating. The EYFS 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’

• Providers will also be required to ensure that all staff are aware of symptoms and treatments for allergies and anaphylaxis. The Department for Education encourages providers to refer to the NHS website on allergens.

• As per the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), there is a requirement that children must always be within sight and hearing of a member of staff whilst eating. From September 2025 the DFE will 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.
  
  
• However the EYFS requirements do not and should not prevent Providers from exploring or allowing parents to bring in  packed lunches or snacks for children. Providers who do allow children to bring in their own food should 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. Find out more the EYFS nutrition guidance.

• Providers may also be able to seek guidance from the Food Safety/ Environmental Health Teams based at local borough or district councils:

• Cannock Chase
• East Staffordshire
• Lichfield
• Newcastle under Lyme
• South Staffordshire
• Stafford
• Staffordshire Moorlands
• Tamworth

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.

Providers cannot lay claim to funding where a child has not started their funded place as initially arranged and claim this as absence. This is unless parents have agreed to this i.e. there are legitimate reasons for the absence preventing a child starting the place that a parent then has to terminate.

If a child leaves the provision outright; the provider can inform the EEF Finance 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.

The definitions of childcare and early years provision, under sections 18 and 20 of the Childcare Act 2006, specifically excludes care provided for a child by a parent, step-parent, foster parent (or other relative) or by a person who fosters the child privately or has parental responsibility for the child.

The Adoption and Children’s Act also outlines that adopted children are treated in law as if the adopted child was born to the adopted parent which by extension includes adoptive relatives (i.e. aunt) maybe referred to as an ‘adopted aunt’ therefore is ‘related’.

This means early years provision supplied by a childminder (either independently registered with Ofsted or registered with a childminder agency) for a ‘related’ child does not count as childcare in legal terms. funded hours cannot be claimed by, or spent on, childminders providing childcare for their own child or a related child, even if they are claiming for other children. The Council may seek to re-claim all monies paid where it is determined a childminder has claimed funded hours for a relative as specified in this clause.

A range of support and guidance can be found on our provider funding page which includes information on:

• the early years portal,
• validating working parent entitlement codes,
• processing headcount tasks,
• accessing statements
• attendance policy
• other financial support linked to funded places such as Disability Access Fund (DAF), Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP), SEN Inclusion Fund.
• downloadable forms such as parent declaration and privacy notice and provider agreement
• and much more

Videos (via you tube)

The council has produced a range of short videos to explain varying aspects of early education funding. This support can be found on the following pages:

• Benefits of childcare (can also be shared with parents)
• Disability Access Fund (DAF)
• Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)
• How providers can offer funded hours and charging
• Parent Declaration Form and Privacy Notice