FAQ about FEEE funding
When is the child eligible?
Parents can start claiming the child's funded place, the period after their child turns 3 (or the period after their child turns 2 if they're eligible). The date they can claim will depend on when their child's birthday is.
| Child’s birthday between: | When they can claim: |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 31 March | From the 1 April following their 3rd birthday, or if eligible, following their 2nd birthday |
| 1 April to 31 August | From the 1 September following their 3rd birthday, or if eligible, following their 2nd birthday |
| 1 September to 31 December | From the 1 January following their 3rd birthday, or if eligible, following their 2nd birthday |
Example:
If a child turns 3 years old on the 15 February, they will become eligible for their funded place from the 1 April.
How many hours can a parent / carer claim?
Parents of eligible 2-year-olds can claim a maximum of 15 hours FEEE per week. As a provider, you can only claim 2-year funding with a ‘Good’, ‘Outstanding’, ‘Met’ or ‘Effective’ Ofsted inspection grade.
For 3 and 4 year olds it will depend on the circumstances of the parent / carer. All children aged 3 or 4 can claim up to 15 hours FEEE per week for up to 38 weeks a year (term time). If a parent wishes to take less hours a week and stretch their hours over more than 38 weeks this is known as a stretched offer. This is something you can implement if you wish but not something we insist you support.
Some parents may be eligible for the 3 or 4 year old extended entitlement allowing them up to 30 hours of FEEE per week. You do not need to register separately to accept these children.
A parent has spoken to me about a stretched offer – what is this?
A stretched offer is when a parent wishes to take less than their 15/30 hours a week and use some of their entitlement in the holiday periods. A parent / carer cannot insist that a provider offers this opportunity, but if you can accommodate a parents/carers request and it will benefit the child we would definitely recommend you doing so.
You can find out more by reading our
and if you require further advice on how to administer a stretched offer, please contact us on 0116 305 5788 or email: FEEE@leics.gov.uk
When can a child access the funding?
Free hours must be accessed between 6am and 8pm and can be accessed Monday to Sunday. A maximum of 10 hours can be claimed for in 1 day.
Can funding be accessed at more than one provider?
Funding can be spread over a maximum of 2 providers in any one day.
Making a claim
What documents do I need before I make a claim?
A copy of each child’s birth certificate / passport or medical card and a signed/dated Parental Statement of Undertaking (PSOU) which clearly states how many hours the parent/carer wants you to claim for. A template is available on the main FEEE page.
Where a parent is eligible for the 2 year old funding or the extended entitlement you will also need to ensure you collect the relevant reference numbers, and in the case of the extended entitlement/EYPP the parent's NI number.
Do I send the copy of birth certificate and PSOU to the Local Authority?
No – please keep the copies securely, in line with your data protection policy.
How do I claim?
At the beginning of each period, you will be able to access an online headcount task for funded 2-year-olds and for 3- and 4- year-olds, which asks you to detail all eligible children attending your provision. You will receive an email notifying you when the task has opened and when it will be closing. For help and support on how to complete these tasks, please refer to our dedicated Early Years Provider page where you will find useful guides and videos available. You can refer to the upcoming headcount and payment dates in our FEEE calendar which can be found on our main FEEE page.
You must ensure that you submit your headcount task by the deadline date in order to receive any funding. Where children join your setting or change their hours after you have submitted the headcount task, you should complete the subsequent adjustment task.
What are the minimum/maximum hours a child can claim for?
A maximum of 10 hours can be claimed for in one day. There is no minimum claim.
Can I claim for a relative?
Early education funding cannot be claimed by, or spent on, childminders providing childcare for their own child or a related child, by blood or marriage.
Payment Information
How much funding will I get paid?
The total funding you receive for 2-year-old funding is one rate, with no additional supplements.
The total funding you receive for 3- and 4- year-old funding will be made up of two parts:
- a base rate,
- the funding received through the deprivation supplement.
This is paid as a lump sum and will reflect the amount paid per child, per hour based on the child’s address.
How is FEEE paid?
An initial payment at the beginning or prior to the start of the term and a final payment just after half term.
The initial payment is based on an estimated amount of hours the provider submits to the local authority. Providers will be paid 60% of these estimated hours at the beginning of each period.
Once the Headcount data is collected, the final payment is the total hours claimed for minus the initial payment. Mid-term amendments are then submitted and this adjustment is then made along with the following terms initial payment.
In your first term as a newly FEEE registered provider you will receive your first payment on the final payment date.
If a child moves settings, do I need to transfer the funding?
Funding that needs to be transferred will be administered by the FEEE Team in the Business Support Services. This means that all changes to the headcount task must be added to the adjustment task.
What happens if a child who is claiming FEEE leaves the setting without honouring their notice period?
Funding always follows the child. If parents/carer(s) do not honour their notice period this is a matter concerning the provider and the parent, and the provider should invoice the parents accordingly.
I’ve claimed for a child but haven’t been paid the correct hours?
Once your headcount or adjustment task has been processed by the FEEE Team, you will be able to view what has been paid for each child on the Provider Portal.
- For any child where you have not received your full claim, please go to the child’s record and view the ‘Notes’ tab – the reason for the reduction will be stated in here.
- If a child’s hours have been reduced or not paid due to another setting claiming, please increase the child’s hours back up on the next task and upload a copy of the child’s PSOU in the ‘Documents’ tab.
If you need any further clarification, please email feee@leics.gov.uk.
If a child is absent will I still get paid?
Children should be in attendance for all of the funded time claimed for unless there is a valid reason such as illness or holiday. Providers are expected to maintain accurate records of each child’s attendance (including start and leaving times) and ensure they actively engage with parents/carers where attendance is sporadic or consistently lower than the FEEE claimed, amending their claims when relevant.
If you are aware that a child at your setting is taking extended leave or has been having difficulty attending, please email the FEEE Team for advice at feee@leics.gov.uk.
What is an adjustment payment?
Once the headcount task deadline has passed, you will be given the opportunity via an adjustment task to advise us of any changes to your original submission. This includes new starters, leavers or children who have increased or decreased their hours.
We must be informed of all changes to your Headcount. Payments will be made at the same time as the following terms initial payment.
How do I know if I have been paid?
A BACS remittance is sent out by the local authority’s Finance Service Centre, usually via email. You will also be able to view your payment summary in the Provider Portal once the payments have been processed.
Headcount task
I have missed the Headcount deadline but need to submit some claims – what should I do?
You will only need to complete the adjustment task when it is released if you need to advise the local authority of any changes. If there are further changes that occur between the adjustment task deadline and the end of the period, you will be able to submit a late adjustment via the Provider Portal. Please note that the late adjustment is purely for changes that have occurred after the headcount and adjustment deadlines have both passed.
Should you miss adding new starters or an increase of hours that could have been added to the headcount or adjustment task, then you will not receive the funding, we will only pay from the date after the adjustment task deadline.
The adjustment task informs the local authority of any changes that have taken place since you submitted your headcount task. This may include:
- New starters
- Leavers
- Children reducing their hours
- Children increasing their hours
If you have no changes you do not need to return this.
2 Year Old Funding
Can I offer the 2 year old funding if I am newly registered and do not have an Ofsted grade?
Yes, however once you are inspected if you do not receive a grade of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ you will be removed from the list of providers able to offer the 2 year old funding and funding may be withdrawn as soon as practicable.
What if my Ofsted grade changes? Can I continue to offer 2 year old funded places?
If you do not receive an Ofsted grade of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ you will be removed from the list of providers offering the 2 year old funding. Any children already accessing the funding at your provision will continue to be funded however you will not be in a position to take any new children until your Ofsted grade once again reflects good or outstanding. Should you not receive a good or outstanding at your subsequent inspection, then funding for existing children will also be stopped.
The local authority will write to you outlining their position in relation to the funding. It is important that Leicestershire children access high quality provision so we will, if necessary remove the funding as soon as is practicable. In all cases providers are expected to engage and work with officers of the Early Years Inclusion and Childcare Service.
For further information please refer to our
What if there is a change to my provision?
Depending on what the change is, you may need to give us more details. If any of the following changes have or are due to take place you should complete a change of circumstance form which can be found on our main FEEE page.
- Change of Ownership
- Change of Premises
- Change of Banking Information
- Change of Setting Name
- Change of Organisational Status
- Change of Committee Representative
- Change of Provider Portal User
- Closure / Withdrawal from FEEE
If there are other changes due to take place, i.e. increasing your numbers / age range / extending your provision / high turnover of staff etc, you should email childcare@leics.gov.uk for further support and once the change has occurred, please complete the Self Update Form, which can be found on the ‘Forms’ tab in the Provider Portal.
Support for early years providers
Is there any support available to me?
For more information on the support available please see Support from the local authority.
If you have a FEEE related query you can call 0116 305 5788 or email feee@leics.gov.uk. For general childcare advice you can call our Duty Desk on 0116 305 7136 or email childcare@leics.gov.uk.
What if I have an Ofsted grade of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’?
The local authority does not have a duty to provide targeted support to those who are deemed good or better by Ofsted, there is a huge amount of information and resources available on our website: or you can contact our duty desk on 0116 305 7136 during office hours. Alternatively you can email us on childcare@leics.gov.uk.
Also see: