Funding handbook for Coventry Childcare Providers: Early Education Entitlement Funding

Providers should deliver flexible packages of childcare, which support families to take up funded places within the parameters set out in the statutory documents.

Funded places should be free at the point of delivery; no mandatory charges should be attached to any hours during which funding is being delivered. For children accessing funded hours before and after lunch, the lunchtime period should form part of the funded hours offer and must not be charged as a ‘privately paid for’ hour

For example, for a child taking up 30 hours, over 5 days per week: 8:30am  to 2:30pm; you may offer parents the option of ‘purchasing’ additional hours around the funding block, although this must be optional.

Government requirements stipulate that children should be able to take up their funded place in continuous blocks of time.

To enable parents to make an informed decision about where their child takes up a funded place, providers should publish information about how and when they deliver funded places.

The Department for Education expect this information to be published on the provider website or Coventry Family Information Directory by January 2026. This requirement is applicable to all provisions that have 10 or more children in attendance at any one time. Information should include but not be limited to:

• days and times of funded sessions 
• the times and costs of any additional ‘privately paid for’ hours
• any additional charges, which are not covered by the funded entitlement, must be offered to parents as a voluntary purchase option. This may include but not be limited to food consumables, non-food consumables such as sun cream or nappies, activity charges and additional hours
• where the provider asks parents to pay for additional hours and services, they must have a policy/statement which sets out alternative options for parents who choose to opt out of ‘voluntary charges’, items and or services. For example, allowing the parent to supply their own items

Examples of models offering both funded and privately paid for hours

Table 1

Table 1 assumes that the child is eligible to receive 15 hours funding per week. The child attends a funded morning session, and the parent is opting to pay for additional periods and services which fall outside of the funded hours, for example, 7.30am to the start of the funded hours.

Table 2

Model 2 assumes that the child is eligible to receive 30 hours funding per week. This child attends all day and accesses funded hours between 8:30am to 2:30pm. The parent is opting to pay for additional hours and services which fall outside of the funded hours.