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by Shannon Pite

The Department for Education has published updated guidance on how early years providers should deliver the early entitlement offers, including clarification on the rules on additional charges. 

In an updated version of the statutory guidance for local authorities on early years and childcare, the government has confirmed that providers must make all additional charges – whether for nappies, wipes or lunch – clear and upfront to parents, and that these charges must not be included as a condition for parents accessing their hours.   

Instead, local authorities should ensure that providers are aware that they can charge parents for the following extras in connection with the free hours, but these charges must be voluntary for the parent:

• consumables to be used by the child, such as nappies or sun cream
• meals and snacks consumed by the child – in limited circumstances where a provider is unable to enable parents to bring their own food to a setting, providers may charge for food, but this cost must be reflective of the costs of the food itself, and must not exceed the reasonable cost of the food provided
• extra optional activities such as events, celebrations, specialist tuition (for example music classes or foreign languages) or other activities that are not directly related or necessary for the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

The update also clarifies the eligibility criteria for two-year-olds for both the 15- and 30-hour entitlements, in relation to the working parent entitlement and the disadvantaged entitlement:

"Where parents meet the eligibility criteria for both the disadvantaged two-year-old entitlement and the working parent entitlement, local authorities have a duty to account for any hours available under the disadvantaged entitlement when determining how many hours a parent should be funded for under the working parent entitlement. This means that local authorities must fund the first 15 hours under the disadvantaged entitlement before they fund any working parent hours. Until September 2025, children eligible for both entitlements will only be able to access 15 hours under the disadvantaged entitlement. From September 2025 they will be able to access 15 hours under the disadvantaged entitlement plus 15 hours under the working parent entitlement."

Disadvantaged two-year-olds are eligible for free early years provision if:

• the parent(s) claim one of the following benefits:
  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Universal Credit – if a parent is entitled to Universal Credit and they have an annual net earned income not exceeding ÂŁ15,400, assessed on up to three of the parent’s most recent Universal Credit assessment periods
  • tax credits and they have an annual income of up to ÂŁ16,190 before tax
  • the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
  • support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (support for asylum seekers)
  • the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• the child has a statement of special educational needs made under section 324 of the Education Act 1996
• the child has an Education, Health and Care plan prepared under section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014
• the child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance under section 71 of the Social Security and Contributions and Benefits Act 1992
• the child is looked after by a local authority (under section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) or by a local authority in Wales within the meaning given by section 74(1) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
• the child is no longer looked after by a local authority as a result of an adoption order, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order (within the meaning of section 8(1) of the Children Act 1989 or section 74(1) of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014), which relates to either or both of the following:
  • with whom the child is to live
  • when the child is to live with any person.

The full document featuring the named changes can be found .

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:  â€śGiven that from September, government will control the price of around 80% of early years provision, it has never been more important for that funding to genuinely reflect the true cost of delivering places. And yet we know, in many areas, this year’s rate increases won’t come close to mitigating the impact of April’s National Insurance and wage rises, meaning that costs for both providers and families are likely to spiral.  

“So, while today’s guidance may rightly make charges clearer for parents, it does not take away from the fact that, unless the government takes urgent action to tackle sector underfunding, many providers will still have no choice but to increase the price of any non-funded hours parents take up or optional extras they purchase – or risk facing permanent closure. 

“If the government is as serious about ensuring that all families can access affordable care and education as it says it is, then it simply must tackle the root causes of rising early years costs. As we know from the past decade and beyond, ignoring the problem of underfunding won’t make it go away.”