Funded Early Learning Information for Providers

Here you will find information about Funded Early Learning (FEL) and the Code of Practice.

For more information about FEL funding information and to access the provider portal and to provide your headcount information please go to:
Funded Early Learning information for providers | Sheffield City Council

Parents can view the Funded Early Learning advice page here.

If you wish to register to deliver FEL please download the process and form here.

The Funded Early Learning (FEL) Code of Practice can be downloaded here.

This document sets out what providers in Sheffield must do in order to meet our requirements for delivering FEL.

The agreement can be downloaded here.

We encourage providers to use the recommended agreement as a template only. You can adapt the document to fit in with your existing procedures. Section 6 (Parent/Carer declaration) and section 7 (Provider declaration), however, must not be altered.

By working to improve attendance we are supporting children to have the best possible start to their education and help prepare them for school.

The Early Years Attendance Guidance in section 4 of the FEL Code of Practice supports our wider Sheffield Attendance Strategy. It highlights the importance of promoting good attendance for all children including at non-statutory childcare providers.

The guidance helps Early Years providers manage and improve the attendance of children accessing Funded Early Learning and sets out our expectations of good practice.

Read more about attendance here.

Providers can claim extra funding for children who are from low income households (annual family income under £16,190).

This funding is called Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and aims to support children's development, learning and care.

Eligibility

3 and 4 year old children accessing Funded Early Learning (FEL) will be eligible for EYPP funding if they meet at least 1 of the following criteria:

Parent/carer is in receipt of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under part six of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
• Working Tax Credit run-on, which is paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - your household income must be less than £7,400 a year after tax not including any benefits you get

Additional Criteria

You may also get early years pupil premium if your child is currently being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales or if your child has left care in England or Wales through:

• adoption
• special guardianship order
• a child arrangements order

Registering Children for EYPP

We have revised the FEL parent and carer agreement which can be used to register children for FEL and also check if they qualify under the benefit criteria for EYPP.

Eligibility checks

For benefit related claims we use the Government's Eligibility Checking Service (ECS) to confirm whether the child is eligible for EYPP. The use of this service is legislated within the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.

To check eligibility for children who have left care through any of the reasons described above, the Provider, with consent from the parent/carer, must contact the Local Authority and request to claim EYPP for the child. The LA will then make the appropriate checks to see if the child meets the eligibility criteria.

Payments

Payments will be calculated using an hourly rate of £0.53.

Providers will receive EYPP funding based on actual hours attended as determined from the Early Years Headcount Census. The payment will be made at the end of each term.

Collecting the information from you

The information will be collected as part of the Early Years Headcount Census process. See the download below for the EYPP data collection process.