Early education funding and processes

To offer funded places, you must register with the local authority first as a ‘local provider’. This involves signing up to the local provider agreement and being set up on the Provider Portal system which enables you to claim for funded children. If you would like to find out more about this funding or want to register to be a local provider of early education funded places, email eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

Registration can take up to six weeks so it is important that you do not start offering a funded place until we have confirmed when you can claim the funding from.

Each term, we will issue two tasks through the Provider Portal.

The Forecast Task is where you to let us know which children will be accessing a funded place, and for how many hours, the following term. You will be paid for the hours you submit on the headcount task at the beginning of the term.

The Headcount Task is issued during the term to check if there have been any changes since you submitted the Forecast Task. If there are no changes, just submit the same information again to confirm this. If there are more or less children/hours than you forecast, just submit the Headcount Task to show the actual children and funded hours for that term. At the end of the term we will finalise your payment by either paying you more (if you had more children/funded hours) or invoicing you (if you had less children/funded hours).

If you submit the Headcount Task and things change again, just email eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk and ask for an Amendment Task. Then you can let us know the most accurate information before the payments are finalised at the end of term.

The aim of the Early Years Pupil Premium is to close the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers by providing funding to early years providers to help them raise the quality of their provision.

The EYPP pays an additional 60p per hour per eligible child, this equates to just over £342 per child taking up their full 570 hours. Only 3 and 4-year-old children who claim the universal 15 hours will be able to attract the EYPP, however they do not need to take up their full entitlement to receive it. EYPP will be paid in proportion to the child’s actual funded hours.

Please encourage parents to fully complete the relevant section of the parental declaration form to enable the LA to check eligibility.

Eligibility

Children will be eligible to claim EYPP if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

Their family receives at least one of the following:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under part six of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
• Working Tax Credit run-on, which is paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit – your household income must be less than £7,400 a year after tax not including any benefits you get

They may also get early years pupil premium if they are currently being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales or if the child has left care in England or Wales through:

• Adoption
• Special guardianship order
• A child arrangements order

Eligibility will be checked annually to ensure circumstances haven’t changed. EYPP should follow the eligible child, if the child moves to a different provider part way through the year, the funding should therefore follow them along with their universal funded hours.

For further information please email eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

The funding team deals with all work relating to early education funding, including the local provider agreement, claims, payments, compliance and outreach support for families.

Contacts to this team should be via eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

You can also call us on 023 9284 1974.

Contacts from parents or professionals specifically regarding 2-year-old funding should be via 2yroldfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

You can find links below to government documentation and guidance about providing early education funded childcare for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.

• Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities – relates to providing free early education for 3 and 4-year-olds, and sufficient childcare for working parents.
• 30 Hours Free Childcare – LA and early years provider guide – this document describes how the statutory guidance (above) should be implemented at local authority and provider level, with examples and scenarios to illustrate specific points.
• Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) – sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to five.
• Sources of Income for early years providers – There are a number of additional sources of funding available that you can use to support individual children and raise the quality of childcare that you offer.

Clarification of stretched funded places

For Parental Declaration Form please email: eyfunding@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

To access the full range of early years practitioner resources click here