Provider Portal funding documents
Provider Portal funding and documents
Login to the York Provider Portal for early education funding and to update your details.
York Early Years Provider Portal
From September 2024, working families can receive 15 hours of Funded Entitlement each week over 38 weeks of the year, the term after their children turns 9 months old.
Some 2-year-old children, whose families are in receipt of certain benefits, are entitled to 15 hours of Funded Entitlement each week over 38 weeks per year. This is known as the 2-year-old funding.
Other 2-year-olds may be entitled to 15 hours of Funded Entitlement each week over 38 weeks per year, if their parents or carers are working
All 3- and 4-year-old children are entitled to 15 hours of Funded Entitlement each week, over 38 weeks per year. This is known as the Universal 15 hours funding.
Some 3- and 4-year-old children are entitled to an additional 15 hours of Funded Entitlement. This is known as the 30 hours Funded Entitlement.
For further information about the early years funding entitlements and how to register as a provider for Early Years funding, read:
- patterns of take up of the Early Years entitlements
- information for practitioners about funded childcare for 2-year-olds
- information for practitioners about funded childcare for 3- and 4-year-olds
- Early Years Pupil Premium
- Disability Access Funding
- registering to deliver the early years funding entitlements
Read more about:
- Claims process and payment information
- Department for Education statutory and operational guidance
- City of York Council Early Years Funding Policies and Procedures
- Early Years Provider Agreement
- Parent and carer declaration forms
- Sufficiency data
- Provider information sessions and portal training sessions
- Early Years Funding Team
- Appeals process
Claims process and payment information
Read the Autumn 2024 term funding letter.
Providers who are on the early years funding mailing list will receive the funding letter in advance of the forthcoming term as well as submission deadline dates.
Before providers begin to make their claims on the portal, parent and carer declaration forms should be completed with each family to determine the number of funded hours that need to be claimed for the term.
Providers are required to submit estimates and actuals data on the provider portal. The schedule of submission deadline dates is available on the provider portal homepage or can be requested by email: [email protected].
Providers are paid on a monthly basis, with 4 payments per term:
| Term | Payment 1 | Payment 2 | Payment 3 | Payment 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | August | September | October | November |
| Spring | December | January | February | March |
| Summer | April | May | June | July |
75% of the estimate figures are split into 3 payments (payments 1, 2 and 3). Payment 4 is based on actuals data.
Estimates - 75% split into 3 payments
Providers are required to submit an estimate figure each term. The estimate is the submission of the total weekly number of hours for all children you anticipate you'll need to claim for within the term (confirmed bookings). This needs to be done for each headcount, that is:
- an estimate for under 2s
- an estimate for 2-year-olds
- an estimate for 3- and 4-year-olds
For example, provider is claiming for 3 children who are in receipt of 2-year-old funding who all wish to claim 15 hours per week. The estimate would be submitted as 45 hours.
Providers will be required to submit an estimate figure before the start of term which will determine the amount owed in payments 1 to 3. However, providers will be able to amend their estimate at 2 points within the term should they wish to. Any subsequent payments will be amended once an amended estimate has been submitted and accepted by the funding team (subject to when the submission is made).
Actuals
The actual is the submission of full child data for children that have attended your setting within the term. This is where you add the individual children onto the appropriate headcount and confirm the number of funded hours, they wish to claim with you.
Submission of actuals data is mandatory and once the deadline has passed, the portal will be closed to providers. The final payment of the term (payment 4) is the balance of the funding owed plus supplements such as Early Years Pupil Premium, Deprivation and Disability Access Funding.
The deadline for Disability Access Fund applications will always be the same date as the Actuals data submission deadline. Any eligible applications received after the actuals deadline will be processed in the following term.
Actuals Data Checking deadline
Providers have a short period of time after submission of actuals data to complete checks on the provider portal. Providers are encouraged to check all children are on their headcounts, claims are correct, and the hours submitted are reflective of what has been signed for on the parent and carer declarations. We would also advise providers to check their summary pages of the provider portal to ensure the amount owed to them is as they expect. The deadline for this action will be available on the submission deadline schedule.
The onus is on you, the provider, to ensure that you apply for the funding for a child either on full term or half term basis. It's important you make parents aware of these cut off dates and conditions of moving their children from setting to setting.
Providers who wish to make any changes to their claim in this period will be required to contact the funding team to discuss any changes.
After this point no further changes to claims will be accepted as the team will begin to process final payments for the term on the next working day.
If a provider’s funding claim results in an overpayment, the balance owed to City of York Council will usually be deducted from the funding balances owed on their other headcounts for the term. Should the amount exceed all funding amounts due for that term an invoice may be issued to the provider to recoup the balance owed or the amount may be recouped from future funding terms.
If late data submission results in an over claim, you will not receive the corresponding funding as it will have already been allocated to another setting.
Read our guide on how to use the Provider Portal and submit funding claims.
Department for Education statutory and operational guidance
The Department for Education (DfE) issue operational guidance and statutory guidance for Early Years and childcare providers which outlines the DfE’s expectations about how the early years funded entitlements should be delivered.
Early Years Provider Agreement
To register and continue to receive Early Years funding, all funded providers must read, accept and return the 'Provider Declaration Form':
Email: [email protected] with your completed provider agreement.
The City of York Council Early Years Funding Policies and Procedures page details some further information about our policies which compliments the Provider Agreement.
Parent and carer declaration forms
Read more about parent and carer declaration forms.
Sufficiency data
To support the local authorities in their statutory duty to ensure sufficient Early Years and childcare places, we ask all childcare providers to complete their sufficiency data on the Provider Portal on a termly basis. You'll be able to indicate the number of places you offer across each of the proposed age ranges and also the number of vacancies you hold for each age range. The data you provide will only be used to inform the local authority and will not be made directly available to families but may be used to give an indication of the level of availability in the local area.
For guidance on how to submit your sufficiency data read our Portal Sufficiency Guidance.
Provider information sessions and portal training sessions
The Early Years Funding Team hold regular Provider Information Sessions which aim to update providers on any important new information or to consolidate knowledge of any matters relating to early years funding. An email will be sent out by [email protected] notifying you of any provider information sessions available. If there are any key areas you would like further information on in these sessions, email the Funding team with a brief description.
The team also hold virtual Portal Training Sessions which allow providers to have training on how to use the online provider portal, how to make a claim and gives a general overview of what early years funding we offer. To register your interest in any future Portal Training Sessions, email: [email protected] and we'll add your name and contact details onto our waiting list.
Early Years Funding Team
The team can give advice and support on any query that you have relating to the Early Years entitlements. This could be support around:
- information regarding the payment of the funding to the settings, for example the amount of funding made, timescale for submitting your online claim, when payments should have been received
- offering the enhanced entitlement flexibly
- if you think you have received the incorrect amount of funding
- for advice on filling out and submitting the online claim data and census information
- for notification of a change of funding contact details
- if a child starts or leaves a setting after submission of claim or census information
The team can be contacted on telephone: 01904 553880 or by email: [email protected].
Appeals process
Read the appeals process for parents and providers for Early Education Funding.
