Early Years Funding for 2, 3 and 4 year olds

Working Entitlement Funding
- 3 or 4-year-olds of eligible working parents can get an additional 570 hours of funded childcare (up to 30 hours per week).
- From April 2024, up to 15 hours per week of funded childcare is available to eligible working parents of 2 year olds.
- From September 2024, eligible working parents with children from 9 months will be able to access up to 15 hours per week of funded childcare.
- The childcare offer will be extended from September 2025, so that up to 30 hours per week of funded childcare will be available to all under 5s of eligible working parents.
Applications for the working entitlement need to be made via HMRC. Both parents or lone parent need to be:
- working the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Minimum or Living Wage
- expect to earn at least £61.92 a week if you’re under 18, £84.80 a week if you’re aged 18-20 or £52.80 a week if you’re an apprentice (either under 19 or in the first year of your apprenticeship)
They must also:
- live in England
- expect to have income of less than £100,000 each a year
Please visit childcare choices for more information on the help that is available for childcare costs and details on how to apply (if applicable)

A 2-year-old can get funded childcare if the parent/carer gets one of the following:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Universal Credit and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (or both), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)

A 2-year-old can also get funded childcare if any of the following apply

they’re looked after by a local council
they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
they get Disability Living Allowance
they’ve left care under a special guardianship order, child arrangement order or adoption order

Parents/carers of children that fall into one of these categories will need to attach evidence to support their application.

If you’re a non- UK citizen who cannot claim benefits

If your immigration status says you have ‘no recourse to public funds’, you may still get free childcare for your 2-year-old. You must live in England and your household income must be no more than:

£26,500 for families outside of London with one child
£34,500 for families within London with one child
£30,600 for families outside of London with two or more children
£38,600 for families within London with two or more children
You cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or investments

Parents will need to complete the Application for funded early education for two-year-olds from families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and attach this to their online application, along with any supporting evidence such as Biometric Residence Permits, bank statements, wage slips etc.

Children are eligible to receive the Early Years Funding from the start of the funding period following their 2nd birthday for a maximum of three funding periods. Parents/carers cannot apply before the start of the funding period in which their child’s second birthday occurs.

A 2 year old funding application can be made and eligibility checked online or by phone: 0345 155 1013. Parents/Carers will need their National Insurance Number or National Asylum Support Number (if applicable) in order to make a 2 year old funding application.

When are children eligible?

Child’s birthday between:	2-year-old applications can be made no earlier than:	Funding can start from:
1st January and 31st March	1st January	Start of the funding period beginning on or following 1st April after the child’s second birthday
1st April and 31st August	1st April	Start of the funding period beginning on or following 1st September after the child’s second birthday
1st September and 31st December	1st September	Start of the funding period beginning on or following 1st January after the child’s second birthday

'Universal' 3 & 4 year old funding

All 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for the ‘universal’ early years funded childcare (up to 15 hours per week) from the start of the funding period following their third birthday until they start school (usually at statutory school age – the term following their fifth birthday).

No code is required to access the universal 3 & 4 year old funding.

When are children eligible

Children who turn 9 months, 2 or 3 years old between:	Will be funded from:
1st September and 31st December	1st January
1st January and 31st March	1st April
1st April and 31st August	1st September

Funding Rates

Under 2s (from 9 months):

From	Hourly Rate		Description
September 2024	£9.60	=	Base Rate of £9.50 + Universal SEND £0.06 + Universal Deprivation £0.04

2 year olds:

From	Hourly Rate		Description
January 2023	£5.34	=	Base Rate of £5.32 + Universal Deprivation £0.02
September 2023	£7.16	=	Base Rate of £7.10 + Universal SEND £0.06
April 2024	£7.10	=	Base Rate of £7.00 + Universal SEND £0.06 + Universal Deprivation £0.04

3 and 4 year-olds:

From	Hourly Rate		Description
April 2018	£4.06	=	Base Rate of £4.02 + Universal SEND £0.04
September 2018	£4.08	=	Base Rate of £4.02 + Universal SEND £0.04 + Universal Deprivation £0.02
April 2020	£4.16	=	Base Rate of £4.10 + Universal SEND £0.04 + Universal Deprivation £0.02
April 2021	£4.20	=	Base Rate of £4.14 + Universal SEND £0.04 + Universal Deprivation £0.02
September 2021	£4.22	=	Base Rate of £4.14 + Universal SEND £0.04 + Universal Deprivation £0.04
April 2022	£4.38	=	Base Rate of £4.30 + Universal SEND £0.04 + Universal Deprivation £0.04
January 2023	£4.42	=	Base Rate of £4.34 + Universal SEND £0.04 + Universal Deprivation £0.04
April 2023	£4.56	=	Base Rate of £4.46 + Universal SEND £0.06 + Universal Deprivation £0.04
September 2023	£4.90	=	Base Rate of £4.80 + Universal SEND £0.06 + Universal Deprivation £0.04
April 2024	£5.22	=	Base Rate of £5.12 + Universal SEND £0.06 + Universal Deprivation £0.04

Other funding:

Funding	From	Amount
EYPP	April 2024	68p per hour (payable on 15 hours only)
DAF	April 2024	£910 per annum (pro rata for school starters age 4 years)
SEND Individual Inclusion Funding	n/a	Level 1 = £1440 per year
SEND Individual Inclusion Funding	n/a	Level 2 = £1800 per year
SEND Individual Inclusion Funding	n/a	Level 3 = £2250 per year

Please note: the SEND Individual Inclusion Funding rates are based on a child attending 15 hours per week / 570 hours per year. If the child attends for 30 hours the funding amount would be doubled or if the child attends less hours per week, funding will be reduced.

Can I offer the Early Years Funding to parents?
To offer the Early Years Funding for 2, 3 and four-year olds a provider must:
- be on either the Early Years Ofsted Register, Schools Ofsted Register or inspected under the Independent Schools Inspectorate
- be open for a minimum of 33 weeks per year, during school term time
- allow their details to be listed on Find Childcare in Devon
The funding is claimed through a secure online database therefore providers should have a business email address and internet access.

Please note that to offer the Early Years Funding for 2-year-olds, you should be judged as good or outstanding by Ofsted. New providers who have not been inspected will be funded.

All information on policy, procedure, systems and processes for providing the Early Years Funding can be found in the Local Conditions of Funding.
How do I register?
If you wish to register to offer the Early Years Funding you will need to:
1. Request a copy of the Provider Agreement from the Early Years Entitlement Funding Team – phone: 01392 385530 or email: eyef@devon.gov.uk
2. Read all the information sent, including the Provider Agreement
3. Return the Provider Agreement Form (Annexe A) to eyef@devon.gov.uk
What do I need to do?
Each term you will need to:
1. Check that children are eligible for the Early Years Funding
2. Complete a claim through the Provider Portal (secure online database)
3. Make amendments for any children that have joined or left during the term
4. Inform the helpdesk if there have been any significant changes to number of children attending for funded hours or if you have no funded children.
For more information on the process for claiming the Early Years Funding please see:
- Process for Providers
- Process for Childminders
Providers must notify the helpdesk immediately if they are unable to meet the conditions of the agreement. This will not necessarily affect the continuation of the service and Devon County Council may be able to offer support to enable it to continue.
Buying/selling a business

If a childcare business is being sold the existing owner, and new owner, need to advise the Early Years Funding Helpdesk so they can ensure that all parties are clear on how the funding will be allocated if the sale completes part way through an Early Years funding period.

A new Provider Agreement will be required from the new owner so they can be set-up with a provider portal account in order to claim funding from the next funding period.

If the sale completes part-way through a funding period, providers must agree on the proportion of funding that is due to each party. Payments will be made to the original provider as per our payment schedule and the amount due to the new owner should be included as part of the sale of the business.

If the funding received exceeds the funding required for the funding period, the overpayment will be recovered in the next funding period from the new provider. This should therefore be adjusted and included as part of the sale of the business.
Working in partnership with Devon County Council
We ask that all providers that receive funding through Devon County Council’s Early Years and Childcare Service follow this publicity guidance. Thank you for working with us.
- Using the Devon County Council Partnership Branding
Frequently asked questions
The following are a selection of answers to frequently asked questions: