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Early education and childcare funding

Entitlement to early education and childcare:

• all 3 and 4-year-old children, and some 2-year-olds, are entitled to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks a year
• working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds can claim an additional 15 hours per week (total 30 hours)
• from April 2024, working families with children aged 2–3 years can access the entitlement
• from September 2024, working families with children under 2 years will also be included

Inclusion Supplement Funding

The Inclusion Supplement helps early years providers cover extra costs of supporting children with SEN and disabilities, as required by the Equality Act 2010.

• the supplement is paid per hour in addition to the standard Nursery Education Funding (NEF) rate for any funded hours a child attends in a mainstream setting or Early Years Language Class
• if a child attends more than one mainstream setting, parents choose how the funded hours (including the Inclusion Supplement) are split

For children attending a specialist provider:

• the specialist provider gets up to 15 funded hours per week, which do not include the Inclusion Supplement
• any hours over 15 are funded at the standard NEF rate plus the Inclusion Supplement

Purpose: The Inclusion Supplement helps ensure full inclusion of the child and supports the provider in meeting the child’s needs, contributing to the costs involved in providing this support.