Dear Colleagues,
Newly Eligible Parents
Funding will be paid from the beginning of term for any parents entitled to 30 hours this term, Autumn 2016. As from the 1st September any eligible parents who have paid for additional hours over and above their 15 free hours should be reimbursed for any childcare costs that could have been included in the extended offer.
Children attending more than 1 provision
Where funding is being shared between 2 or more providers please encourage parents to pass on their reference number to all providers so you can all benefit from the uplifted rate.
Don’t miss out on funding!
Please don’t assume that you have no eligible children. We urge you to ask all parents of 3 and 4 year old’s if they are eligible and for their reference number. Even if you don’t class your provision as rural, a greater number of parents are now eligible due to the completion of phase 3 and they can take their entitlement anywhere in the County.
Reminder of parameters of delivery for pilot funded hours (parent declarations):
- between the hours of 6am and 8pm
- minimum of 3 hours per day between 9am and 3:30pm
- maximum of 10 hours per day
- maximum of 30 hours per week
- maximum of 3 Northumberland approved providers
Workforce development
The business workshops were very successful with a range of schools from across the County attending, some of whom are currently delivering the extended entitlement and others who are already preparing for September 2017. Building on this we have commissioned out a range of new and exciting courses which can be found within the Early Years Professional Development Programme to support schools in their delivery. Please contact Theresa Iley 01670 622743 theresa.iley@northumberland.gov.uk if you have any questions.
National Interest in Early Implementation
We travelled to London last Thursday to meet with other Early Implementer LA’s, the Early Implementation team at the DfE and the Early Years Minister Caroline Dinenage. We were very encouraged to hear how high early years is on the Ministers agenda, as well as all the exciting work happening across the Country, some of which Northumberland is trail blazing. Thank you!
Following on from this we are holding a meeting today (Tuesday 27th September) with a member of the Early Implementation Team from DfE along with a selection of early years providers to showcase all our hard work as an extended team.
Please contact the Early Years Team if you have any support requirements.
Please signpost parents to Northumberland Families Information Service if you are unable to offer eligible parents what they require.
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