Early years funding updates

To try and co-ordinate important messages we are including funding updates on this webpage. This will include everything that is current. We recommend that you ‘bookmark’ or save this webpage as a ‘favourite’ so you can easily refer to it.

  • Updates - Autumn 2025

    As we begin the 25/26 academic year, we thought it may be a good opportunity to provide some updates with regards to Early Years funding.

    From September 2025, the childcare offer has been extended so that up to 30 hours per week of funded childcare is available to all under 5s of eligible working parents.  Please note that 30 hours is not available to all children. 2-year-olds who are in receipt of the ‘targeted’ funding only, or 3- & 4-year-olds who are in receipt of the ‘universal’ funding only, can access up to 15 hours per week of funded childcare . There will be some 2-year-olds that don’t qualify for targeted or working entitlements, so please ensure that eligibility is confirmed before a child joins your setting, or that a parent is aware of any fees/charges if they are not eligible.

    It’s essential that you continue to check working entitlement codes. If a 3- or 4-year-old becomes ineligible for 30 hours (working entitlement), they will still be able to access the 15 hours (universal entitlement) but under 3’s won’t have access to any funding.  The eligibility dates for codes and grace periods apply to all ages.  Please refer to the ‘Review Previous Checks’ section of the provider portal where you can view eligibility and grace period dates and the ‘Expiration Dashboard’ will allow you to re-run checks for those that are showing as no longer eligible.  Please also refer to our Working Entitlement update for providers if you have any queries.

    With the extension to the childcare offer, we are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts each term where funded hours claimed with 2 or more providers result in an overclaim of either weekly or termly hours.  Conflicts have to be resolved before we can make our Headcount/Amendment payments.  As soon as data is submitted, we email providers if there is an overclaim and have a small window for responses to ensure payments meet our payment schedule.  To support providers, we have updated our provider process for children sharing early years funding (Headcount) and provider process for children sharing early years funding (Amendment). If you have children attending your setting that are sharing funding with another provider/s you must follow this process. Failure to do so may result in administrative charges as per our provider agreement.

    The Academic Calendar 2025/2026 has been finalised and uploaded to the website. Providers can set their own term dates, so the calendar is intended to be used as a guide. We have shown the maximum number of hours that can be claimed in each funding period to try and prevent children from running out of funding prior to the end of the academic year.  You will need to calculate the funding that you require for each child, each term/funding period, as the number of hours will be dependent on their individual pattern of attendance. You need to be mindful that each child has an entitlement, and those that become eligible in Spring/Summer have a pro-rata amount.  Some children may drop out of eligibility for working entitlements, 3- & 4-year-olds may reduce to 15 hours per week and under 3’s may have no funding.  Please note that the headcount weeks may be subject to change.

    Autumn headcount weeks is Sunday 21st September to Saturday 27th September 2025. The task deadline will be Sunday 5th October and payments will be processed approximately 6 weeks after the deadline as per our payment schedule.

    We have two online training sessions planned for September on how to complete the autumn headcount tasks. The dates/times and links are advertised on our updates page under ‘Online support/training sessions and videos’.

    We have updated the EYPP pages on our website and added a section ‘Ofsted & EYPP’. This section includes information on how the funding can be used and things you should consider for children who are in receipt of EYPP.

    Payments:

    • Summer amendment payments (if applicable) will be processed by 30th September 2025.
    • Autumn forecasts (where applicable) have been calculated. We will be sending an email in the next week which will detail the full amount of the autumn forecast (where applicable) and how this is broken down into equal monthly instalments (September – December). Payments will be processed/uploaded within 5 working days of each month and can take up to 3 working days to reach bank accounts. You will receive a remittance email for each payment. If a remittance is not received this may be due to an overpayment from a previous headcount or amendment, so please refer to your financial breakdown report that is issued on the provider portal.
  • Autumn Headcount Task Guidance

    The autumn headcount task is now available with a deadline of 23.59 on Sunday 5th October 2025.

    From 1st September 2025, up to 30 hours per week of funded childcare is available for all under 5s (from age 9 months as per date of birth requirements) of eligible working parents. The tasks have been updated to allow for the increase in funded hours to be claimed.

    Please note that you must submit all of your headcount tasks, even if you do not have any funded children in a particular age group. This is a condition of funding as per our provider agreement.

    Please follow the guidance below on how to complete your tasks.

    Completing the headcount task/s

    Please ensure that the correct start date is recorded for any new children as it will automatically default to 1st September 2025.

    For under 2s, and 2-year-old funded children that are entitled to the working entitlement funding you will need to enter your weekly hours/hours claimed for the funding period in the ‘working entitlement’ columns.

    For 2-year-olds that are entitled to the ‘targeted’ 2-year-old funding

    • you will need to enter your weekly hours/hours claimed for the funding period in the ‘targeted/universal’ columns.
    • You must see evidence of eligibility for ‘targeted’ 2-year-old funding. The evidence will contain a ‘TYF878’ reference and the ‘earliest date to take up the funded place’. We recommend that you keep a copy on file in case of any query.

    For 2-year-olds that are entitled to both the ‘targeted’ 2-year-old funding and ‘working entitlement’ funding

    • hours should be recorded in all four columns.
    • Please maximise the funding in the ‘targeted/universal’ columns first and add any balance of hours (if applicable) to the ‘working entitlement’ columns.

    For 3- & 4-year-olds that are eligible for the ‘universal funding’ only, not the working entitlement (extended hours), please record the hours in the universal columns.

    For 3- & 4-year-olds, who are eligible for the ‘working entitlement’ please record hours in all four columns.

    • Weekly and termly hours should be split 50/50 and half recorded in the ‘universal’ column and the other half in the ‘working entitlement’ column.
    • For example, a child claiming 30 hours per week & 400 hours for the funding period, would be recorded as 15 hours in both weekly ‘universal’ and ‘working entitlement’ columns and 200 hours in both ‘universal’ and ‘working entitlement’ hours for the funding period columns.
    • Weekly hours can be claimed in multiples of 0.25 but this cannot be split across the weekly columns, for example, a child claiming 14.25 hours per week would be recorded as 7.25 hours in ‘universal’ and 7 hours in ‘working entitlement’.
    • Your total hours for the funding period must be in multiples of 0.5 hours. If the child has a total of 242.5 hours for the funding period, you cannot record 121.25 in each column. Please record 121.5 in the universal column and 121 in the working entitlement column.

    Please remember

    • There must be a ‘WE’ icon in the funding column to allow hours to be entered into the working entitlement fields.
    • If there is no ‘WE’ icon, please ensure that you have run a check on the code, that the child is entitled to the funding in Autumn as per their eligibility dates and the details i.e. name/date of birth used to run the code check match the task. You may need to add the working entitlement code to the child’s record on the task by clicking on the ‘edit child details’ button to the left of their name.
    • We cannot accept decimal claims. Weekly claims need to be in multiples of 0.25 hours and termly claims need to be in multiples of 0.5 hours. If decimal claims are submitted this will be amended by the funding team and an administrative charge will apply as per our provider agreement.
    • If the child has moved from, or sharing hours with another setting, please contact the other provider and confirm their pattern of attendance, total hours claimed for autumn and leaving date if appropriate including notice period (up to 4 weeks allowed for funding).
    • For children that use their funding across 2 or more providers, you must follow our Provider process for children sharing early years funding (headcount)
    • Please only collect and add parent/carer data for any children that you believe may be eligible for EYPP and who are not listed on a previous EYPP report and who do not have a ‘P’ in the funding column on the task.
    • Please remember to save your changes at regular intervals and only submit the task/s once all the changes have been input. If there are any late changes you can resubmit up until the deadline.

    The deadline for submissions is 23.59 on Sunday 5th October 2025.

    Please note that our Early Years Funding Helpdesk is open from 9.00am until 4.00pm Monday to Friday and we are only able to provide support during these times.  We ask that you start your tasks at the earliest opportunity so that if you have any queries, you can contact us  before the deadline.

    Frequently asked questions:

    Why are the four columns not available on my 2-year-old task so I can split the hours?

    Most 2-year-olds will be eligible for either targeted or working entitlements. The four columns will only be available if they are eligible for both (as indicated by a ‘2’ & ‘WE’ icon in the funding column).

    Can we claim 30 hours if a 2-year-old funded child is entitled to targeted and working entitlements?

    Yes. From the 1st September 2025, 2-year-olds that are eligible for both the targeted and working entitlements can access up to 30 hours per week. If a 2-year-old is only eligible for the ‘targeted’ 2-year-old funding, they can only access up to 15 hours per week.

    How do I record the funding if a 2-year-old child is entitled to both the targeted and working entitlements?

    You would add the funded hours across all four columns. If they are eligible for both, they will have a ‘2’ and ‘WE’ icon in the funding column. Please maximise the funding in the ‘targeted/universal’ columns first and add any balance of hours (if applicable) to the ‘working entitlement columns.

    Why are the working entitlement boxes not available for my 2-year-old claim?

    The working entitlement boxes will not appear if there isn’t an ’WE’ icon in the funding column on the task. Please ensure that you have run a check on the working entitlement code and that it is eligible for the autumn funding period by looking at the eligibility dates or the ‘earliest start date for working entitlement funding’ in review previous checks.

    If you have run a check, and the child is eligible, please click on the ‘edit child details’ to the left of the child’s name on the task and enter the working entitlement code into the relevant field. Once you have saved the changes, the ‘WE’ icon should appear in the funding column and allow you to enter the hours on to the task.

    Please note that when you run a Working Entitlement code check and select ‘Check new child,’ the code will not automatically be added to child’s details on the headcount task.

    When I enter 20 hours on the 3- & 4-year-old task it’s imputing 15 hours in the Universal column and 5 hours in the Working Entitlements column, it’s not splitting it 50%?

    You will have to overtype the weekly hour fields and record 50% of the weekly hours in each column for universal and working entitlements.

  • 2 Year Old Funding

    We have received a number of enquiries from parents that have been turned away from a setting as they haven’t provided an 11-digit code for the two-year-old funding. Children can be awarded two-year-old funding as ‘targeted’ or ‘working entitlement.’

    If they are ‘targeted’ they will have a TYF878 number. You will need to see confirmation from the parent that they are entitled to this funding. This could be an email or portal message. The evidence will also show the earliest date that they can take up the funded place. You cannot run a check on a TYF878 code or enter it on to a task.

    If they are ‘working entitlement’ they will have an 11-digit code that start ‘50’, ‘11’ or in some cases ‘40’. You should run a check on the code through the provider portal in the usual way to confirm eligibility.

    If two-year-old funding has been awarded by another Local Authority, please direct the parent to the Citizen’s Portal (devon.cc/tyf) to make an application so they can get their TYF878 reference.

    We recommend that if a child joins you without the relevant eligibility/evidence that their contracts are issued as if they are a fee-paying child.

  • Early Years Expansion Grant (EYEG)

    For 2025/26 we have received a grant of £966,227 from the Department for Education (DfE) for the final phase of the roll-out of the working entitlements.  From September 2025, the working entitlements for eligible 2-year-olds and under will increase to up to 30 hours per week.

    Local authorities must distribute the funding in a clear and transparent manner and consider specific growth needs in their area to meet their sufficiency duty.

    Whilst the funding is calculated on uplifting the 2-year-old and under 2’s funding rate, due to provider feedback, we have decided to distribute an increase across all ages (£778K) and retain some funding (£188K) for revenue grants in areas where we know new development will be required in 2025.  Due to more 3- & 4-year-olds accessing a higher number of funded hours, it does reduce the amount of increase we can allow on each of the funding rates.

    The increases in hourly rates from 1st April 2025 (summer funding period) is as follows:

    3- & 4-year-olds = 6p per hour

    2-year-olds = 4p per hour

    Under 2’s  = 4p per hour

    Therefore, the new hourly rates from 1st April 2025 will be:

    3- & 4-year-olds = £5.56

    2-year-olds = £7.46

    Under 2’s = £9.96

    All hourly rates above include 10p for universal SEND and 4p for universal Deprivation.

    The increased hourly rates will be used to calculate the funding due for summer once the summer headcount tasks have been submitted. This will be shown on the financial breakdown report that will be issued via the provider portal once the balancing headcount payment is made at the end of June.  Please note that we will not be amending monthly forecast payments.

    This is a one-year grant so these increases will be removed from the funding rates from April 2026 and the normal DfE increases will be allocated once known.

    If you are looking at a further development for 2-year-olds or under in an area of need, please speak with your EYCA so we can advise on the grant availability.

    Please ensure this communication is shared with the business owners, directors, finance colleagues and anyone else who needs to be aware.

  • Updated Statutory Guidance re: Charges

    Further to our email sent on Friday 28th March, we have made some amendments to our existing provider agreement with regards to charges and notice periods. The changes are as follows:

    Section 4: Charging parents – opening statement added

    Section 4: Charging parents – Notice periods 4.21 amended

    Section 4: Charging parents – Notice period original 4.21 now 4.22

    Section 10: Termination and withdrawal of funding – Ofsted/ISI outcomes 10.6 amended

     Any reference to consumables, service charges or additional charges are now referred to as ‘chargeable extras’.

    We will continue to make amendments/updates to the provider agreement as and when required.

    Following the release of the Statutory Guidance and our briefing sessions, we have some FAQ’s from both the DfE and from our Devon providers which we hope you will find useful.  We can’t cover every different scenario but hope it sets the options available to you if you are thinking about making changes to your model and/or your additional charges.

    DfE Charging – FAQs

    Provider FAQs for Chargeable Extras

    The DfE have advised that they will not be encouraging parents to opt-out of charges and we are not planning on publicising the changes to parents but you must continue to have options available.  Likewise, you do not need to highlight alternative options to parents and can simply say that you have reviewed your charging policies and have made changes to meet the Statutory Guidance requirements and if parents have any queries, to contact you to discuss.  The DFE are requesting that Chargeable Extra’s, are listed as hours, food, consumables and activities.  The DfE have a template that can be used to agree with parents the services they require and the charges.  To support providers we have drafted a template policy that can be used to set-out your offer along with other charges that may apply to funded or non-funded time.

    It is not a requirement that you use these templates but it is a requirement that all settings are open and transparent with your charges.  Your fees and charges should be published on your websites or social media pages.  We are looking at the Provider Self Update to see if the information can be held centrally and will update you further with our progress.

    Template – DfE Chargeable Extras

    Template – Devon Policy for Chargeable Extras

    Chargeable Extras and itemised invoicing need to be fully implemented by January 2026.  LA’s can exempt providers caring for 10 or fewer children but being transparent applies to all settings.  Pupil numbers fluctuate through the year, and we want to be consistent with all sectors. This is therefore a requirement of all funded providers in Devon.

    We know providers are being asked for detailed invoices for parents who are claiming childcare through their Universal Credit claims so if you have your own invoicing systems, you may want to make changes sooner.  If you are using software packages, it will take time for them to be updated.

    If you have an example of an invoice that has been queried by DWP for a Universal Credit claim and parents are happy for you to share their details, please email copy of invoice and any communications so that we can follow this up with our DWP contact.

    If you have any specific topics that you would like us to cover, please let us know and we will do our best to plan an appropriate session.

  • Online support/training sessions and videos

    Autumn Headcount Task – Virtual training sessions

    These sessions will cover how to complete your autumn headcount tasks. The same content will be covered at both sessions.

    There is no requirement to book a place, please click on the relevant link to join.

    Training videos

    We have also produced some training videos to help with the completion of tasks:

    More videos will be added as they become available.

    Presentations

  • Review of impact for Individual Inclusion Funding

    To ensure Individual Inclusion Funding (IIF) is allocated and meeting the needs of children across Devon, we have changed the way we collect information about the progress and outcomes of children with SEND.

    Further to our previous correspondence, the termly Review of Impact (RoI) for children in receipt of IIF needs to be completed online on the link below:

    Individual Inclusion Funding Termly review of impact

    The deadline for completion is 28th February 2025 for all children that have been allocated IIF from Autumn 2024 or before. This will ensure that we have funding available and allocated for the Summer 2025 term.

    As a new process, we would like the RoI to be completed, even if funding is not required in Summer so that we have a record of the child’s progress.

    For children who are newly funded in Spring with IIF your first RoI is due for completion by 31st May 2025.

    The RoI will be monitored by our Early Years Consultant colleagues who may contact you if they have any queries.

  • Registered email address for funding purposes

    If you change your email address, and this is also used for funding purposes i.e. provider portal, remittance etc. please email eyef@devon.gov.uk to advise and ask for this to be updated. If we have an incorrect email address you won’t receive conflict, audit emails, you may be missing out on important information regarding funding, and it will cause problems if you need to reset your provider portal password. 

    You may also need to register a new egress account for the new email in order to share sensitive and confidential information with us. Please visit Egress support for more information 

    Please could we also ask that funding information is shared with other staff/colleagues where relevant and appropriate.

  • Polylino EAL Resources

    The Early Years and Childcare service has a number of licences available for Polylino resources. 

    Polylino is a multilingual digital picture book service for early years providers. It provides nursery practitioners and managers with a multilingual digital library aligned with the EYFS  curriculum which can be used to support language and literacy development in the nursery and at home.  

    More information is available on YouTube or by visiting the website.  

    If this is something that would support EAL children in your setting, please sign up for the free trial on the Polylino website and if you would like to apply for licences, please complete the Polylino EAL resources for early years children application form

 


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