Services for Young Children

Early Years Education Seminar

Summer 2015

AGENDA• Introduction to Services for Young

Children (SfYC)• Requirements of the Early Years

Education (EYE) Scheme• Early Years Education (EYE) Payment

Funding Terms and Conditions • Single Funding Formula data capture and

calculation• EYE how to make a claim

AGENDA (cont)

• Improvement Support Programme (ISP)• Workforce Development • Child’s entry to school• Stretched Offer and 2 year old funding offer• Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)• Children’s Centres• SfYC communications• Next steps

Services for Young Children Introduction to SfYC - Priorities• Improving quality of provision where quality is

less than good or local outcomes poor• Ensuring sufficiency of Early Years

Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision• Improving outcomes for vulnerable children• EYFS provision – capacity development

SfYC Headquarters Team• Head of Service• Service Management team with

responsibilities for:– Childcare Development and Business Support– Quality Improvement Workforce Development– Childcare Inclusion– Childrens Centres– Administration

SfYC District Teams

• Childcare Development and Business Officers (CDBO)

• Early Years Education District Advisory Team• Inclusion team (Inclusion Coordinators,

Portage team and Early Support Coordinator)• Early Communication Support Service

(Speech and Language Therapist)• Administration teams

DfE Statutory Guidance

• Places duty on local authorities on how the free early years education is to be delivered

• Language used – Must Something that has to be done– Should Something that is at the local

authority’s discretion• Statutory guidance also outlines duty on

childcare sufficiency, information and guidance

DfE Statutory Guidance

Flexibility• Children are able to take up their full

entitlement to free early education at times that best supports their learning, and at times which fit with the needs of parents

DfE Statutory GuidanceQuality• All children are able to take up their

entitlement to free early education in a high quality setting

• Evidence shows that higher quality provision has greater developmental benefits for children particularly for the youngest children

• The biggest single indicator of high quality provision is the qualification levels of staff in a setting

DfE Statutory Guidance

Deprivation

•The formula must also include a deprivation supplement

•It will be allocated based on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)

Requirements of the Scheme Hampshire County Council expectations• Continue to improve children’s outcomes at

foundation stage and narrow the gap through:– Good or outstanding provision with high quality

staff– Maximum free entitlement (where parents seek

this) is available for all eligible children including eligible two year olds

– Free early years education is available at times to meet the needs of parents and carers to enable them to work or train

Requirements of the SchemeEYE providers need to:•comply with all relevant legislation•understand and comply with the Hampshire EYE Payment Funding Terms and Conditions•be Ofsted registered or registered with an Independent Inspectorate approved by the Secretary of State (Independent Schools)•deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage•publicise offer to parents

Early Years Education (EYE) Payment Funding Terms and Conditions

• First section contains Hampshire County Councils standard contract terms and conditions of business

• Reflects current Statutory Guidance for local authorities

Early Years Education (EYE) Payment Funding Terms and Conditions Schedules • Schedule 1 – Delivery of Free EYE• Schedule 2 – EYE funding rate and payment

schedule• Schedule 3 – Privacy Notices• Schedule 4 – Requirements of EYE Funding

Payments

Early Years Education (EYE) Payment Funding Terms and Conditions Schedules • Schedule 5 – Procedure to withdraw/suspend

EYE payments• Schedule 6 – Information for parents/carers

on the Provider SEND Local Offer• Schedule 7 – Parent Complaints Procedure

Provider’s Responsibility

Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF)

• Currently the EYSFF hourly rate is made up as follows:– A fixed base rate– A variable rate for 3 elements

• Flexibility – start and finish times• Quality – Ofsted outcome/staff qualifications• Deprivation – funding per child calculated using

the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) based on child’s home address

How to Make a claim Introduction

We will cover:•Eligibility•Some basic statutory rules•How to prepare for and make your first claim•How to claim for children starting after headcount•Payment•Some top tips •Where to look for further help in operating the scheme.

Who is eligible?• Eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds can access the 570 hours

from the funding period following their birthday

• Eligibility for 2 year olds can be checked using the Eligibility Checking Service (ECS) – log in required. Parents can also check for themselves

• For a 4 year old child starting school they may not access all their 570 hours through the preschool as they are receiving the equivalent through school attendance.

• You are responsible for ensuring that children are eligible to claim. You should check birth certificates and keep a record of the check you have made

When are children eligible?

• Early Years Education to be provided in three funding periods:

Date of Birth range Funding starts

1 January – 31 March 1 April

1 April – 31 August 1 September

1 September – 31 December 1 January

What can you claim?Eligibility and Framework Minimum session length 2.5 hours

Maximum session length 10 hours

Hours Not before 7am, not after 7pm

Weeks Providing funded places for 38 weeks and a stretched option

Minimum number of days 2

Number of providers Maximum of 2

How do I prepare for my first claim?

• You need to organise a parent declaration form for each child you are making a claim for;

• You will need:– Proof of the child’s eligibility (child’s date of birth)– Each child’s start and finish dates– The number of weeks you are claiming– The number of hours per week for each child– To know if any child attends another setting, this is known as

split setting. You need to speak to the other setting to agree how many hours you and the other setting are claiming so the child does not to exceed 15 hours per week.

Parent Declaration Forms

• Must be completed for each child you include on your first and every subsequent claim that covers the period being claimed. This is your authorisation to make a claim

• They are available on the SfYC website• Must be retained according to requirements

of the terms and conditions

Calculating each child’s hours• The attendance pattern of each child will be that agreed

on parent declaration form.

• You need the number of hours per week multiplied by the number of weeks claiming in the funding period.

• There is a maximum number of hours to allow for a proportion of the 570 hours to be available each funding period you should not exceed these hours.– If you always claim the maximum hours you will exceed the

570 hours available over that year of eligibility – The maximum number of hours shown as available is to

allow flexibility for the way you can offer and parents can take up the free entitlement.

Stretched offer• If you are able to offer attendance over more than 38 weeks you

can also provide what is called a stretched offer. • Depending on how many weeks your setting is open and how

parents wish to take these hours you can allocate the 570 across more weeks.

• Providers determine pattern based on consultation with parents and operational requirements.

• There is a ready reckoner on the SfYC website to help you calculate the number of hours per week across the number of weeks you wish to offer.

• We recommend only offering one alternative to the 15 hour per week offer (standard offer), however if you have the administrative capacity you can meet a variety of parent requirements.

Managing the stretched offer across the year

• Depending on the number of hours and weeks offered and agreed with parents, they will either have spare hours to use, or will be in excess of the allowance and will need to choose which days they will not claim these across the eligible year.

• For example:

Government Manifesto on early years childcare

• Information to be formalised over coming weeks/months

• Pledge of 30 hours tax free childcare for working parents for children up to 12 years old

• SfYC to consider implications – survey monkey to be used to establish issues for EY providers

How do I make my first claim?• All new providers can claim through an on-line

system– book your time with your local office• If training is not available in time, paper headcount

form can be used for the first time and online for your second claim.

• You need to submit your claim based on details of children eligible on role on the third Thursday of each funding period known as headcount day.

• There is also a deadline for submission which is the fourth Friday of the funding period.

When will I be paid?

• EYE is paid in each of the three funding periods starting:– 1 January – 1 April– 1 September

• Following the receipt of a complete and correct claim payment will be made in 10 working days.

• If there are any queries regarding your claim the 10 days start from the resolution of the query.

• It can take 3 or 4 days for payment to clear into setting bank accounts.

How will I be paid?• You will be paid into a bank account in the

name of your setting

• It should be an ordinary business bank account

• If you have not already done so you should return your bank details to Services for Young Children using the appropriate form provided to you by your local office

How much will I be paid?• The Early Years Single Funding Formula is used to calculate

the hourly rate for each provider

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/childcare/providers/eye-eysff/eysff.htm

• This is made up of 4 key elements:

– Base rate currently £3.81– Flexibility – Quality – Staff qualifications– Quality – Ofsted judgment (but new providers will be

assumed to be at a ‘Requires Improvement’ level until first inspection)

• In addition IDACI supplement is added on a child basis

How much will I be paid?• Your first claim will be on the base rate unless you have

already submitted your flexibility and staffing qualifications information to your CDC/local office and your full rate has already been calculated.

• If you are paid at the base rate and following assessment of flexibility and quality this increases, you will be paid the difference.

• New settings; the first Ofsted judgement will come into effect and impact on the funding calculation for the period in which the judgement is published. Following this it is an annual cycle based on the information collected in the autumn.

Who do I contact with queries about my payment?

• As a general rule please do not contact the team about payments until 10 days after the headcount deadline date (if you have not received a remittance advice).

• If you have a query please email sfycheadcount@hants.gov.ukOr telephone 01962 847070

How do I claim for a child starting after Headcount day?

• These are called “in period claims” • The claim form is on the website and you can complete as soon

as the child starts and submit as soon as completed• However claims are not paid until after half term and headcount

has been completed • Always check if another setting has already claimed for the

child. Funding follows the child so you must contact the other setting to claim the funding which may have already been paid to them– You should only make an in period claim for additional hours

that may not have been claimed by the previous setting.• You should submit any in period claims within 10 working days

of the end of the funding period being claimed for

Top tips on helping me manage the EYE scheme

• Balance of hours – It is recommended that you maintain a balance of hours for each child

• Standard offer - You should make parents aware that there are 570 hours which is 38 weeks x 15 hours. If you are operating to school terms you may be open for 39 weeks so you need to agree which weeks are available and will be claimed for

• Stretched offer – if parents want to change from stretched to 38 week standard offer or visa versa it is easiest to do this at the beginning of their eligible birthday year

What do we do with your claim?

• All claims are checked:– Each child’s date of birth is within the date range– Number of hours being claimed this funding period– Are the hours being claimed in excess of the 570?– Has the claim been fully and correctly completed

• Any queries will stop the 10 day turnaround clock which will be started again when the query is resolved

Summary of key milestones you need to plan for

Future claims

Key references on claiming

• SfYC website - terms and conditions and links to operation of EYE scheme

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/childcare/providers/eye-eysff.htm

• Statutory Guidance link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare

• Parent information on the EYE scheme:http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/childcare/parents/cis/eye.htm

Improvement Support Programme (ISP)

• Local Development Teams in each area of county (SfYC and Prospects Services) support new settings to meet the EYFS requirements - coordinated by the Childcare Development and Business Officer (CDBO) covering following aspects;

- Learning and Development

- Leadership and Management (includes welfare requirements and safeguarding)

- Inclusion (includes SEN and behaviour management)

Improvement Support Programme (ISP)

• All new settings likely to have a support package unless they are being managed by a high quality provider with existing settings

• A support package will be developed by the LDT and will be shared and ‘accepted’ by new provider

• Will include specific agreed support and access to a range of core services

• Ofsted inspection outcome of ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’ would also mean specific support to meet Ofsted action points – Schedule 5 action taken (potential removal from EYE scheme)

• Other issues might trigger some support e.g. safeguarding, non-inclusive practice, EYFSP data concerns

Services for Young Children setting support Workforce Development• Training subscription scheme available;

See http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/childcare/providers/childcaretraining.htm for more information

Services for Young Children Early Years Education – Child’s entry to school• Children entering school in Year R• Parents right to defer• After Christmas break for Autumn, Spring or

Summer birthday children, and • After the Easter break for Spring or Summer

birthday children• Transition arrangements confirmed with

setting, school and parent• EYE deferred entry form signed and

RETURNED with Headcount

Starting School: COUNTY ADMISSIONS TEAM• County Admissions Team

Children's Services DepartmentThe CastleWinchesterHampshireSO23 8UG

Tel: 0300 555 1377• (Calls to 0300 numbers are included in most call packages and charged at the same rate as 01 and 02 numbers.

Costs may vary depending on your telecom provider.)

• Fax: 01962 845093

• http://www3.hants.gov.uk/education/admissions/ad-guidance/ad-summerborn.htm

2 Year Old Providers• Providers registered with Ofsted to take children from 2

years can offer free EYE places for any eligible 2 year old• Staff regularly to update their knowledge of child

development and attend appropriate training for the care of 2 year olds

• Critical to develop good partnership links with local children’s centre and to attend the ‘Children’s Centre Cluster meetings’

• Use a range of strategies to respond to the needs and values of each individual family

• Young children must have access to a stimulating outdoor area on a daily basis

EARLY YEARS EDUCATION FOR TWO YEAR OLDS

– DWP list received by SfYC

– Parents contacted – new postcard sent with application information

– New on-line checker launched 24/02/15 – parents and providers can carry out eligibility checks

– Providers will be able to apply for on-line checker log in release (Form A for return, Form B to retain) when EYE funding registration confirmed

– Privacy notice on website includes reference to on-line checker

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)• 1 April DfE EYPP becomes available• Parents apply to confirm eligibility

– paper based at present– likely to be through on-line checker in future– providers will check eligibility through LA either

in the online checker or direct.• Payment of EYPP for Summer 2015 will be made

during the Summer term• See link; http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-

services/childcare/providers/eye-eysff.htm

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Needs to be spent on interventions known to make a difference, as proven by research•CPD - staff qualifications, training•Buying in expertise•Speech and language development•Improving children’s self-regulation, resilience, health and well-being•Improving parental engagement and the home learning environment

Ofsted to judge if money well spent

Purpose of Children’s Centres• Improve outcomes for young children (0-5 years) and their

families • Particular focus on reducing inequalities in child

development• Services include activities which support parenting,

parents aspirations, self esteem, family health and life chances

• Children's Centre services are led by the local authority and delivered in partnership with Health, the Department for Work and Pensions and Services for Young Children

• A full description of the Children’s Centre Core Purpose can be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a00191780/core-purpose-of-sure-start-childrens-centres

Services for Young Children Communication• Use of business email accounts and sign up

to the SfYC blog is essential;– all SfYC communications via this account – SfYC ‘Blog’ provides latest updates –

regularly click on this from ‘latest news’ on (Homepage) to avoid missing anything!

– Website includes downloadable resources and regularly updated information

Next Steps • Ensure you have completed the EYE

application form and return to address detailed on form, along with Ofsted certificate and proof of insurances being in place at rates stated in agreement.

• Ensure you have signed the statement agreeing to the ‘Early Years Education Payment Funding Terms and Conditions’ and return with the application form.

Any Questions?