Coventry childcare provider handbook for the delivery of Early Education Entitlement Funding - Print version

Handbook for the delivery of Early Education Entitlement Funding

This guidance has been created by Coventry Early Years Team to support childcare providers in meeting the terms and conditions of Early Education Entitlement Funding delivery, as set out in the following Government and Local Authority documentation:

• Early education and childcare: Statutory guidance for local authorities 2018
• Early years entitlements: operational guidance: For local authorities and providers June 2018
• Coventry Provider Funding Agreement (updated annually)
• Memorandum of Understanding for Maintained, Voluntary Aided / ControlledSchools

*The term parent is used throughout this guidance to refer to the person who has parental responsibility for a child.
** This document assumes that schools are delivering Early Education Entitlements over no more than 38 weeks per year.

Admissions policy

All parents should have the same rights to access a funded entitlement place regardless of whether they choose to pay for additional hours, activities, meals, snacks and consumables. Parents should not have to reserve a place each term.

Schools should publish admissions information, which is clear and can be easily understood by parents. This is to support parents to make an informed decision about where they wish to use their child’s funded entitlement.

The admissions information should clearly identify which hours/sessions can be taken as funded provision.

Please see examples of funding delivery models [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/early-years-childcare/coventry-childcare-provider-handbook-delivery-early-education-entitlement-funding/2].

Operational models of delivery

Providers should deliver flexible packages of childcare, which support families to take up the Early Education Funding. Entitlement within the parameters set out in the statutory documents. Models should include standalone fully funded sessions and may additionally include models which offer a combination of privately paid for and funded hours. For children accessing funded hours before and after lunch, the lunchtime period should form part of the core funded hours and must not be charged as a ‘privately paid for’ hour. Government requirements stipulate, that children should be able to take up their funded entitlement place in continuous blocks of time.

To enable parents to make an informed decision about where their child takes up an early education entitlement place, providers should publish information about delivery models which include but is not limited to:

• Whether models on offer are term time only or stretched across the academic year
• The number of standalone 15 and 30-hour places on offer for 2, 3 and 4 year olds
• The daily times of the core funded hours e.g. 9am – 3pm for a 30-hour place
• The times and costs of any additional ‘privately paid for’ hours associated with the thespecific models offered by the provider
• Any additional charges for optional activities, services, meals, snacks and consumables, not covered by the funded entitlement
• A policy/statement which sets out alternative options for parents who are unable or unwilling to pay voluntary charges for meals, snacks, additional services, and consumables. For example, allowing the parent to supply consumables or a packed lunch, waiving or reducing the cost of meals and snacks.

Tables 1 and 2 – Examples of funding delivery models

*The maximum EEF entitlement for a 2, 3 or 4-year-old taking up a 15-hour place is 570 funded hours between September and the following August.** The maximum EEF entitlement for a 3 or 4-year-old taking up a 30-hour place is 1140 funded hours between September and the following August.

Table 2

The term ‘consumables’ is used to describe any additional services, activities, trips or sundries

*A child would need to be in receipt of funding at the setting for an entire academic year to be entitled to receive any floating hours where a provider/parent uses the stretched model to receive the maximum amount of yearly funded hours. Floating hours can be taken at a mutually agreed time between the parent and the setting.

Examples below shows models which are all year round but provide term-time only funding.

Fees and charges

Registration fees

Providers are not permitted to ask parents to pay a Registration/Administration fee for children in receipt of a fully funded ‘standalone’ place. However, where parents purchase models which include a combination of ‘privately paid for’ and funded hours, this does not affect the provider's right to levy a registration/administration fee.

Deposit

Providers may ask parents to pay a ‘refundable’ deposit, to secure a child’s early education entitlement place. This deposit must be refunded to the parent, by the end of the first term in which the provider receives the remittance payment of government funding for the named child, from Coventry City Council.

The provider will not be required to refund the deposit where a parent;

• chooses not to take up the funded place
• moves the child to a new provider after the start of a new funding term, but before the termly headcount/census date

In line with the Coventry Provider Funding Agreement, a provider must not charge a deposit for a child accessing a two-year funded place.

Voluntary charges

Providers can charge for meals, snacks and consumables such asnappies, sun cream or for activities such as football coaching, drama,trips and specialist tuition as part of a free entitlement place, although these charges must be voluntary. Where parents are unwilling or unable to opt into these voluntary charges the provider should have a policy in place which highlights alternative options for parents, such as providing their own meals, snacks, sun cream, reducing or waiving the cost of meals, snacks or consumables. The providers’ policy for voluntary charges should include all items, services and activities covered by the voluntary charges, and set out the options available to parents who choose not to opt in. There should be a written agreement in place between the provider and the parent which clearly sets out what items, services and activities are included in the voluntary charge. Providers must ensure that the items included are for direct use by the child and not for standard use with all children across the setting. The additional voluntary charge must not include items suchas art and craft materials which would be considered part of the basic education provision, staff training, personal protective equipment, hygiene or cleaning products. Written agreements should include a section to show whether the parent has opted in or out, and for how long. e.g. termly.

Fee information and payments

Providers must publish clear and transparent fee information, so that parents are aware of the sessions and hours available in respect of funded entitlement hours, any charges for additional ‘privately paid for’ hours, services, meals, snacks and consumables.
Providers should also be clear about their billing approach, frequency and payment methods. For example, whether invoices will be issued on a weekly, equal monthly, variable monthly or termly basis; and whether tax-free childcare and other voucher schemes/discounts can be used if applicable.

Many providers now choose to bill parents in equal monthly amounts; this creates convenience and certainty for both providers and parents in terms of cash-flow. It does however create a couple of infrequent complications which providers must make clear and communicate to affected parents:

• If a child does not take up a funded place until part-way through the year, parents need to be made aware that their charges for the remainder of the academic year will be spread across fewer monthly payments. This may mean higher payments for these months to cover childcare costs during holiday periods, where a provider operates 52 weeks of the year.
• If a child leaves the childcare place part-way through a year, the parents may have been paying a higher monthly fee to cover holiday periods which they would then not access. Providers are required to re-calculate the costs incurred for that year to ensure that affected parents have not been overcharged, and to reimburse parents where they have overpaid.

Checklists

Fee information checklist for childcare provider delivering early education entitlement funding

Does the provider's fee information:

• Include the provider's name, address, telephone, and email contact details?
• State opening hours and set closure periods?
• Make clear to parents that funded entitlement hours are completely free of charge during specified hours/sessions/days?
• Include details of the specific models of delivery offered for 15 or 30 hours,for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, including the number of standalone places,times, days and sessions.
• Tell parents about the maximum number of funded weeks/hours in each term and academic year, and which weeks/dates are covered in each funding period?
• Highlight to parents that all children in receipt of 3- and 4-year-old funding must have taken up a place before the termly census/headcount date?
• Make clear to parents, the policy the setting will follow, where parents choose to relocate their child to a new provision, following the provider’s submission of termly headcount data to Coventry City Council.
• Highlight to parents who are in receipt of a 30-hour funded place, that they must re-confirm their eligibility every 3 months, as prompted by HMRC and the consequences, should the parent fail to do so.
• Set out contractual expectations relating to specific models which combine ‘privately paid for’ and funded hours? E.g. 8am -1pm  - An all-year round contract is made up of a combination of ‘privately paid for’ and funded hours during term time. However, the hours of 8am -1pm will be fully chargeable outside term time.
• Include charges for ‘privately paid for’ hours for all age groups?
• Clearly outline each of the funding entitlements offered for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds and tell parents how they can apply?
• Highlight to parents that the provision of meals, snack, consumables, and services will be provided at an additional, voluntary cost to the parent, during the days/session a child is accessing a funded place. Cost should be stated.
• Highlight to parents the settings policy on how they will respond if parents are unwilling or unable to opt into the voluntary charge; or the circumstances when a parent may opt out before the agreed point. E.g. Child develops a severe allergy which impacts on the parent wanting to provide meals and snacks from home.
• State the terms, conditions and costs involved, for any parent wishing to purchase additional hours and any fees which will be incurred for late collection?
• Enable parents to easily reconcile fee information against their invoice, so that they can clearly identify what they have been charged for and why?
• State how parent can apply for and use a Tax-Free childcare account?
• Inform parents about additional funding payments such as Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and Disability Access Funding (DAF)?

Invoices and receipts

Providers should ensure they have clear invoice/receipt structures in place which enable parents to easily reconcile invoices with charges detailed on the provider’s fee information. Invoices should be fully itemised to show a break-down of all aspects of the fee including funded hours, additional ‘paid for' hours, services, meals and snacks.

Please note, funded entitlement hours must not be presented as a monetary value and therefore must be shown as zero cost. This is to ensure that parents can see that their children have received funded hours completely free of charge at the point of delivery.

Checklist for invoices and receipts

Is the following information clearly detailed on the invoice/receipt issued to parents?

• Provider name
• Provider address
• Provider contact
• Invoice number
• Invoice date
• Nursery tel/email
• Parent name and contact details
• Child’s name
• Itemised pricing information which is clearly reconcilable with the information you have provided on the fee information
• The total number of funded hours and weeks allocated for the term
• The total number of hours contracted to attend in this invoice period (both privately paid for and funded hours). This is only required for providers who are not charging fees inequal monthly payments.
• The total number of funded hours claimed. These must be shown as hours and are not represented as a monetary value. E.g. 60 funded entitlement hours = £0.00
• Information shows whether funded hours are being used in a stretched or term time only model. Eg 60 funded entitlement hours (stretched model) = £0
• Additionally purchased ‘privately paid for’ hours are clearly itemised E.g. 10 hours @ £? (School rate)
• Charges for meals and snacks. It is recommended that meals and snacks are shown as separate items to ensure the reason for the charges are transparent and clearly understood by parents. E.g. 3 breakfasts, 2 lunch, tea and snacks @ £?
• Charges for consumables, special activities etc

Early Education Funding Delivery - Compliant Invoice Examples

Please see examples of invoices [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7304/early-education-funding-delivery---compliant-invoice-examples-providers] that would be considered compliant with government and Coventry City Council requirements, Providers should use these examples to ensure compliance against the requirements. We have included annualised invoice examples, which are used by some providers. Annualised invoice calculations are used to spread the total cost of provision over a set number of months, up to a maximum of 12. Where the examples refer to non-annualised invoices, this is where the provider calculates the charge based on hours attended in the invoice period.
Please note that all invoice examples have been set to refer to the month of April which has fewer funded days than a typical month.