Early Years Funding - Exceptional Needs Funding

Who is eligible?

A child is eligible when accessing a government funded place, through to the end of the term prior to them starting reception. It must be noted that funding will be considered for two terms and that, by the third term, if the child’s needs indicated consideration for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment, we would anticipate that the Early Years Setting has had sufficient time to gather and submit as necessary. Beyond this, requests will, in exceptional circumstances, be considered on a discretionary basis.

In order to establish the type of support required, it is essential that the setting provides a summary of evidence gained through the “Assess, Plan, Do & Review” cycle as outlined in the Code of Practice. For those children known to the Early Years Support Team an Initial Assessment can support this evidence. If the child is known to other professionals, please provide a copy of the advice and ensure this is reflected in the child’s individual support plan.

 

Settings who are allocated additional funding are best placed to determine how they ensure an enhanced offer of support to meet the needs of the child. We do not require you to employ staff for each hour the child attends.

 

Banding level	Descriptor	Amount per term per 30-hour government funded place	Amount per term per 15-hour government funded place
1	Quality first teaching plus small group work and involvement from external agencies. An IEP must be in place.	£300	£150
2	Quality first teaching in place plus additional intensive support outlined in an IEP or vigilance for 50-75% of the time.	£750	£375
3	Significant support required for more than 75% of the time, severe social communication difficulties or severe challenging behaviour which puts the child or others at risk of harm.	£2000	£1000
4	At the discretion of the panel based on the need of the child	Discretionary	Discretionary

 

How do settings apply?

 

Please forward your completed form and any supporting evidence via email to earlyyears.sendfunding@bedford.gov.uk 

The below teams can be contacted for further advice as follows:

Early Years Support Team 01234 718123

Sensory & Communication Support Team 01234 718122

Early Years and Childcare Team 01234 276179

All applications will be considered at the appropriate Bedford Borough Panel. The panel will make decisions regarding the level of funding available based on the information included within each application.

Please note that the panels are unable to consider requests for retrospective funding and funding will be agreed prorate from the date it was received. Further information regarding this can be sought from earlyyears.sendfunding@bedford.gov.uk. 

 

Frequently asked questions:

How will settings know the outcome of the panel?

The outcome will be communicated within a week of the panel via email. Funding will be agreed for two terms in the first instance and payment divided evenly.  

 

When will the setting receive payment if funding is agreed?

The first payment will be added to the next remittance following the panel. The subsequent term’s payment will be sent automatically at the start of the following term.  

 

What is the deadline date for a funding request to be made?

We don’t have a deadline but it’s beneficial to the setting to submit the request in a timely fashion as if agreed, it will be paid pro-rata from the date received.

 

What happens if the setting has not submitted a request for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment after the initial two terms of support?

Where the child does not meet criteria for an EHCNA and this informs your decision not to submit we support that and we would continue to provide funding to enable an enhanced level of support at banding level 1 or banding level 2 as appropriate.

 

What if a child joins my setting and is not yet known to any other professionals but is indicating they have a high level of need?

The funding form provides opportunities for you to detail the needs of the child and what support you are putting in place in order to meet the need.