Frequently Asked Questions – Stretched Offer
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Is it ok if a parent wants to split the funding between two providers where one of them is open all year (stretched claim) and the other is term time only (term time only claim)?
This is allowed. The weekly hours column will still be completed to ensure a child doesn’t claim more than 15 hours per week and termly hours checked to make sure we don’t over fund.
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Are providers able to offer a different number of hours per week in term time to holiday periods, so a child can access more funded hours per week during term time and fewer funded hours per week during holiday periods (staying within entitlement)?
Yes this is allowed if the child is attending only one provider and the provider is in agreement with this. The provider will have a 38 week model and a stretched model and any other requests from parents need to be considered by the provider. Some providers accommodate shift workers so these patterns of attendance need to be calculated for the termly claim too where a different number of hours are requested each week.
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What are the minimum and maximum hours for the stretched offer?
Devon County Council are currently working to the National Framework. Therefore funding must be claimed:
- Minimum of 2.5 hours per day
- Maximum of 10 hours per day
- The maximum entitlement to 15 hours per week must be claimed over a minimum of 2 days per week
- Must be claimed between 7am and 7pm
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Is it ok to have some parents claiming a stretched offer but most parents claiming a term time only offer?
Yes. All providers must offer the original 15 hours for 38 weeks, this is a core offer that all parents will be aware of. The stretched offer is an additional model for providers that wish to offer an all year round funding pattern and gives parents an alternative option.