Early Years Entitlement Funding

30 Hours - Working Family Entitlement

Eligible working families in England can apply for 30 hours of childcare to use from the term after their child turns 9 months old until they reach school age. The entitlement is 30 hours per week for 38 weeks per year (term time only) or, 1,140 hours stretched over the whole year.

For those parents wishing to find out more about the working family entitlement and for details on how to apply, please signpost them to the Best Start in Life Parent Hub (formerly known as Childcare Choices).

Parents can apply for the working family entitlement as early as the term before their child turns 9 months old, but the funding will not start until the term after the child has turned 9 months old.

Please refer to the table below for the termly application deadlines, as late eligibility codes will not be accepted.

There is a separate application process for foster carers, please refer to the 'Foster Carers' section on this page for more information.

15 Hours - Families in Receipt of Additional Forms of Support (24U)

2 year olds whose parents are in receipt of additional forms of government support could be eligible for 15 hours of early education funding. In Shropshire this is called '24U'. The entitlement is 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per year (term time only) or, 570 hours stretched over the whole year.

For those parents wishing to find out more about the 24U entitlement and for details on how to apply, please signpost them to our webpage 24U Funding. 

15 Hours - Universal Funding (3 & 4 Year Old Children Only)

All 3 and 4-year-olds who live in England are entitled to 15 hours of childcare irrespective of income levels, benefit status, or family circumstances. The entitlement is 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per year (term time only) or, 570 hours stretched over the whole year.

In addition to the universal 15 hours some families could be entitled to an extra 15 hours through the working family entitlement, which could mean that their entitlement would increase to 30 hours per week for 38 weeks per year (term time only) or, 1,140 hours stretched over the whole year.

For those parent's wishing to find out more about the working family entitlement and for details on how to apply, please signpost them to the Best Start in Life Parent Hub (formerly known as Childcare Choices). Please note that there is no application process for the 15 hours universal entitlement, only for the additional 15 hours through the working family entitlement.

Foster Carers

Children in foster care who are aged 9 months to 4-years-old could also be eligible for the working family entitlement, provided that the foster carer is in paid work outside their fostering role and does not expect their adjusted net income to exceed £100,000.

There is no minimum income requirement for foster carers, however the local authority responsible for the child must confirm that it is satisfied that the foster carer’s paid work other than their fostering role is consistent with the child’s care plan.

Applications for the working family entitlement for foster children must be submitted to the local authority. Please note that before submission, the application must be countersigned by the child's Social Worker.

The application form for foster carers to complete is available to download from the documents library at the foot of this page. The completed countersigned form should be submitted to NEF@shropshire.gov.uk .

How to Claim Funding

In order to claim funding, providers will need to be set up on the system. Once that is in place, the provider will need to get all parents wishing to claim their early years entitlement funding at their setting to complete a Parent Declaration Form (available in the documents library at the foot of this page).

Once setup, providers will have access to an online Provider Portal through which they submit their termly headcount data. The information obtained through the parent declaration form should be used to claim the relevant funded hours on their headcount.

There are two headcount windows each term, an 'Estimate' (Interim) and an 'Actual'. 

The set number of funded weeks each term, are as follows:

Summer (1 April to 31 August) = 13 Weeks

Autumn (1 September to 31 December) = 13 Weeks

Spring (1 January to 31 March) = 12 Weeks

If a parent/carer wishes to change hours or settings mid-term and access a funded place at a new setting, we will need them to complete a change of funding form, which will need to be signed by both the parent/carer and the setting(s). The change of funding form is available in the documents library at the foot of this page.

Funding Payments

Funding is paid out to providers on a monthly basis and the amount of funding received will be based on the information provided through their termly headcount submissions. 

Based on the Estimate headcount submission, 75% of the termly funding allocation will be split into three 25% monthly payments and then following the Actual headcount submission, the remaining 25% of funding due for the term will be issued, which will include any adjustments that have been made since the initial Estimate submission. The Actual payment will also include any Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and /or Disability Access Fund (DAF) payments that are due for that particular term.

Please refer to the table below for a breakdown of what to expect each term/monthly payment. 

*These payment amounts could differ if we receive notification of a change to an Estimate claim after the first 25% payment has been issued. 

Please note: Failure to submit an Interim claim will result in the provider receiving 100% of their termly funding in the 4th payment run of a particular term. 

Monthly payments don't apply to Local Authority Maintained School Nurseries as they receive their funding once a term based on their Actual claim. 

Funding payment dates along with the headcount opening and closing dates are in the 'NEF Diary Dates' document that's available to download from the documents library at the foot of this page.

Early Years Provider Agreement

All providers that are claiming early years entitlement funding must sign a provider agreement before any funding can be issued. This is a statutory requirement for all local authorities and is an essential contract to have in place between the LA and the provider/setting. The agreement itself encompasses the already published statutory guidance from the DfE, with some additional detail that's specific to Shropshire. 

The agreement is available to download from the documents library at the foot of this page and has been created collaboratively by the Early Years team, Shropshire Council Legal team and Shropshire Early Years Partnership board members.

Attendance Guidance for Early Years Providers

There are many reasons why we want young children to come regularly to their early years setting. As well as supporting their learning and development, we want to try to make sure that children are kept safe, their
wellbeing is promoted and they do not miss out on their entitlements and opportunities. If any child's attendance starts to cause concern, please refer to the attendance guidance policy on our Early Years and Schools Safeguarding Policies and Guidance page.