Funding handbook for Coventry Childcare Providers: Early Education Entitlement Funding

Registration Fees

Providers are not permitted to ask parents to pay a Registration and/or Administration fee in connection with government funded hours.

Deposit

Providers may ask parents to pay a ‘refundable’ deposit, to secure a child’s funded place. This deposit must be refunded to the parent, by the end of the first term in which the provider receives the remittance payment of government funding for the named child, from Coventry City Council.

Providers will not be required to refund the deposit where;

• a parent has secured a place at the setting, but the child does not start at the setting before the termly headcount date
• the child has been attending the provision but moves to a new provider/school after the start of a new funding term, but before the termly headcount date

Charging policy

The provider’s policy for optional charges must be published on their website or Coventry Family Information Directory no later than January 2026. This is applicable to all provisions that have 10 or more children in attendance at any one time. The charging policy must identify any charges made for:

• cost of additional ‘privately paid for’ hours
• food consumables
• non-food consumables, and
• activities

This policy should include a breakdown of what is included within each charge and highlight what happens in circumstances where the provision is closed, the child is absent, or the child relocates to another setting.

The policy will need to provide parents with options for alternatives to additional charges, such as allowing parents to supply their own, or waiving the cost of these items. Please note where parents have opted out of additional payment for activities, children must continue to receive provision that complies with the EYFS.

Although charges for additional items and services must be optional for parents, in order to support business sustainability, providers are able to ask parents to agree these on a term-by-term basis, in advance of the forthcoming term.

Written agreements with parents should include a section to show whether individual parents have opted in or out, of specific additional items/ services and for how long e.g. termly. Coventry’s Early Years Annual Parent Funding Agreement may be used for this purpose

Fee and charging information

Providers should be transparent about their fee information, billing approach, frequency and payment methods. For example, whether invoices will be issued weekly, monthly or termly and whether tax-free childcare and other voucher schemes and/or discounts can be used if applicable.

Invoices will not be required where parents access funded hours only and do not opt in to purchase any additional extra items or services.