Dear Nursery Owner/Manager
Please find attached
- A letter explaining the position of Spring and Summer Early Years Pupil Premium arrangements
- The Privacy Notice you should display in a prominent position for parents to see
- A revised parent contract which now includes reference to data being used to check eligibility for Early Years Pupil Premium
This should be used when parents sign to enable you to claim for free early education funding.
May I also take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of providing vacancy information to the Authority. Steve Coughlin has previously provided guidance on how you can do this by updating your information on the Early Help Directory (please contact Steve if you are uncertain:).
It is vital that we have your occupancy and vacancies for a number of reasons.
- Funding for absences that become vacancies could be considered as a fraudulent claim
- Children who are not in a setting when they are expected can be a safeguarding concern
- Preparing for the 30 hour Offer depends on the Authority understanding the capacity to meeting demand, and without your vacancy information, this is impossible to do.
This could lead to decisions about creating more places being skewered due to inaccurate information, and creation of places where they are not needed, leading to unnecessary competition (and conversely less provision than is needed)
Your co-operation in this is vital, and Iappreciate and thank you in advance for your support with this.
Jan Gallagher I Service Manager – Early Help
Liverpool City Council I Cunard Building I Pier Head I Water Street I Liverpool I L3 1DS
T: 0151 2330497 M: 07764 518679 E:
Postal address:
Liverpool City Council I Municipal Buildings I Dale Street I Liverpool I L2 2DH
21 April 2016
FAO Early Years Providers
Dear Nursery owner/manager
RE: EARLY YEARS PUPIL PREMIUM (EYPP)
I am sorry there has been a delay in sending your Spring term 2016 Early Years Pupil Premium Funding and list of known eligible children. This is being addressed and funding and lists of eligible children will be with you next week.
I am committed to ensuring there is minimal delay this Summer Term (and going forward), and wanted to explain what the arrangements will be this term and for the future. I do understand that Ofsted are questioning the use of Early Years Pupil Premium and how it is being used for eligible children.
The new Early Years Portal is being piloted this term (summer 2016), and this portal (when fully rolled out from Autumn 2016) will enable you to undertake an ‘assisted check’ for parents using your nursery to access free early education for 3 and 4 year olds.
This portal will also allow you to undertake an ‘assisted check’ (or parents can do so themselves) for eligible 2 year olds.
An assisted check means that you will need the personal details of parents (Name; Date of Birth and National Insurance Number) and this will be entered on the system and a result of eligible or not proven eligible will be given.
This information is then stored in the system so that when you make your headcount return, it will automatically be included in your funding calculation, and you will know immediately the check is undertaken who is eligible.
As all providers won’t have access to this system until Autumn 2016, your Summer EYPP claim will be calculated from your Summer Headcount information. Details of children attending will be cross matched with the Local Authority Revenue and Benefits Service solely for the purpose of identifying children eligible for EYPP.
This will result in a list of eligible children and the appropriate funding allocation for your setting.
The Privacy Notice (attached) has been produced so that parents can be made aware they can opt out of this arrangement, and can refuse for their details to be checked. It is therefore important that you remind parents of the benefits of agreeing to this as it can bring in additional funding to your setting that will be used to support those children who are eligible.
This Privacy Notice is now replacing the Privacy Notice issued as part of your Early Years Funding Agreement.
Please print this notice and display in a prominent position in your setting, and make parents aware of this where they have 3 or 4 year old children attending, and claiming free early education funding.
I trust this information is helpful, and I again apologise for the lateness of your Spring payments and data, and if you have any further queries please contact Maureen Rogers (telephone details below)
Yours Sincerely
Jan Gallagher
Service Manager
Early Help
Liverpool City Council
Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2DH
T: 0151 233 0494
E:
for
Parents of Children in Early Years Settings
Privacy Notice - Data Protection Act 1998
We(Name of Nursery/Playgroup/Childminder)areadata controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act. Wecollect personal information from you and may receive information about you and your child from a previous early years settings and the Local AuthorityWe hold this personal data to:
- Support your child’s learning and development;
- Monitor and report on your child’sprogress;
- Provide appropriate care, and
- Ensure appropriate funding is claimed[1]
- Assess the quality of our services.
Information about your child that we hold includes your contact details, the developmental progress of your child, their attendance information[2], involvements from other services including the Local Authority[3],where you go after you leave usand personal characteristics such as your child’s ethnic group, any special educational needs they may have and relevant medical information.
However, you can ask that no information beyond names, addresses and date of birth be passed to other services.
We will not give information about you to anyone without your consent unless the law and ourpoliciesallow us to.
We are required, by law, to pass certain information about your child to ourlocal authority (LA) and the Department for Education (DfE).
We need to hold this information for a period of 25 years in accordance with our regulatory body (Ofsted) requirements
If you want to receivea copy of the information about you that we hold or share, please ask the Nursery Manager.
APPENDIX 2
LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL
FREE EARLY EDUCATION PARENT / PROVIDER CONTRACT
1. CONTRACT ARRANGEMENTS
From 2010, all parents of children who have reached the eligible age (and eligibility criteria for 2 year olds) for early years free entitlement are entitled to 15 hours of free education per week, over no less than 38 weeks.
Providers are encouraged to deliver the full entitlement flexibly, in order to meet parent’s needs, and to consult with their current and future customers in order to identify patterns of delivery that will suit their needs. Providers should be aware that where they are not able to meet their customer needs, parents may choose to find alternative provision elsewhere, and the Local Authority has a duty to consider those needs when addressing the childcare sufficiency needs for parents.
Providers should verify the identity and personal details of any child accessing funded places when completing the details below.
Children are eligible to access one free entitlement offer, and the Local Authority will record attendance of all children (both in the PVI sector and Maintained sector) to ensure a parent is not making a duplicate claim at 2 different providers. (It will be clear from the providers’ claims where there are 2 providers sharing delivery of the free entitlement, and this will not be a duplicate claim).
Parents who claim that their child is accessing only one entitlement, and it is found that they are making a claim at 2 different providers (not including an agreed shared arrangement) will be considered by the Local Authority as making a fraudulent claim.
All Provider/Parent contracts will need to be retained by the provider, and will be subject to regular and random inspection by the Local Authority for Audit purposes.
Free early years provision must be ‘Free at the Point of Delivery’; therefore no charge can be made to the parent/carer for any part of the free entitlement (except for an agreed charge for lunch). A ‘cheque back’ system is not allowed.
It is important to discourage parents from changing between providers so that young children have stable and consistent patterns of care, unless there is a valid reason for change (e.g. moving home address). The Local Authority may approve transferring funding for a child during a funded period where agreement is sought by the provider and/or the parent before any move is planned, and is supported in the best interest of the child.
If a parent decides to move their child to another provider during a funded period, without approval of the Authority, the funding arrangements will continue with the original provider until the following funded period, when the new provider is able to make the claim. Any financial charges resulting from an unapproved/unsupported move will be the responsibility of the parent.
2. DUAL PROVIDER AGREEMENT FOR DELIVERY OF FREE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE SESSIONS.
Liverpool City Council supports a maximum of 2 providers in sharing delivery of early years free entitlement sessions where one provider is not able to meet a parent’s need alone.
CREATING A FRAMEWORK FOR PARTNERSHIP WORKING
Partnership working underpins successful delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is no doubt that continuity and consistency provided at one provider offers the best support for young children, but where this is not possible, and 2 providers are used to share the delivery, practitioners must ensure continuity and coherence by sharing relevant information with each other and with parents. Patterns of attendance should be a key factor in practitioner’s planning.
Close working between early years’ practitioners and parents is vital for the identification of children’s learning needs and to ensure a quick response to any area of particular difficulty or concern. Parents and families are central to a child’s well- being and practitioners should support this important relationship by sharing information and offering support for extending learning in the home
Practitioners will frequently need to work with professionals from other agencies, such as local and community health services, or where children are looked after by the Local Authority, to identify and meet needs and use their knowledge and advice to provide children with the best learning opportunities and environments for all children. (See Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage).Providers sharing delivery need to:
- Ensure that each child’s needs are met where delivery is shared towards developing and maintaining well established partnerships.
- Maintain a regular flow of information, knowledge and expertise between all partners involved with a child’s or group of children’s learning, development and welfare.
The expectation is that providers may arrange regular opportunities to meet together to share and discuss information relevant to maximise the learning and development experiences which will meet the individual needs of the child/ren. This may be achieved by sharing policies and procedures with regards to:
- Data protection legislation
- Privacy and Confidentiality
- Parent / carer wishes
- Individual child records
- Daily/weekly planning records
- Records of observation and assessment
- Records of Attendance
- Name of child’s key person
It is expected that the provider where the child spends the majority of time will take the lead. However, ample opportunity must be given to the secondary provider to wholly contribute.
PARENT / PROVIDER CONTRACT FOR FREE EARLY EDUCATION
This contract is to be drawn up between the main provider and the parent. Where a second provider is used to support the delivery of the free education, the 2nd provider’s written agreement must be obtained on this form by the parent and returned to the main provider.
A signed copy of this contract should be given to the parent for their information and the 2nd provider for their records. The original copy should be held by the main provider for audit purposes.
PARENT:
I accept the early years free entitlement offer for my child, and will access this provision through the provider(s) of my choice. I understand that I cannot access more than my entitlement.
I understand that I (as the parent / carer) play a vital role in my child’s development and appreciate that I should be involved as much as possible with the provider(s) of these sessions so that my child will be encouraged and supported through a shared appreciation of his/her needs. I accept that I am the main person with responsibility for my child’s development and will work in partnership with the practitioner(s) to make sure he/she has support for extending learning in the home.
I understand that where I need to access the entitlement from 2 providers, we will work in partnership.
I accept that I am unable to change my child’s free place during a funded period, without the agreement of the provider(s) and the Local Authority. If I decide to change my child’s place during a funded period, the funding may not follow and I will be liable for any costs incurred at the new provider where approval has not been given by the Local Authority.
I understand that the Local Authority will make a regular check to ensure that I do not access more free hours than I am entitled to, and that my (and my child’s information can be shared to check my child is receiving all the support (from services and Early Years Pupil Premium) they may need and be entitled to.
I am applying for my child to attend this provision for the following periods, and will only remove my child for good reason and following discussion and agreement with the provider(s) (and the Local Authority where this takes place during a funded period).
SUMMER PERIODAUTUMN PERIOD
SPRING PERIOD
Signed:...... Name in Full ......
Relationship to Child: ……………………………………….…………………………
Child’s Name ...... Child’s Date of Birth ......
Child Start Date………………………………Child Leaving Date………….……..
PROVIDER:
I agree to deliver free early years entitlement sessions that meet the need of the above child. In doing so, I will encourage parental involvement, so that we can share in the learning opportunities and development of the child.
Where one provider is unable to deliver the full entitlement in the way that meets the parent’s/child’s needs, I agree to working in partnership with another provider. I agree that we will share learning objectives and progress of the child in an open and positive manner.
Signed ......
Position ......
Provider 1 name: ......
Date:......
(Provider 2 to be completed only where 2 providers share the delivery arrangements)
Signed ......
Position ......
Provider 2 name:......
Date......
All information on this agreement will be used to process the nursery education funding and may be shared with other departments within Liverpool City Council and/or Local Authorities to ensure all relevant funding is claimed and to detect or prevent fraudulent claims.
[1] Appropriate funding includes Early Years Pupil Premium which will require sharing of parent’s details to check eligibility
[2]Attendance is important to support school readiness for young children and establishing good patterns of attendance and is an Ofsted regulatory requirement.
[3] Other Services include Health Visiting Service and Children’s Centres to support an Integrated 2year old review.