Ofsted identified Issue 1:
• Improvement to be achieved Actions Needed
How they will be implemented Outcome/ Success Criteria Person/s Responsible for Implementation Resources Required (£ cost) Timescale to be completed by Monitoring Impact Measures
Ofsted identified Issue 2:
•
Improvement to be Completed
Actions Needed How they will be
implemented Outcome/ Success Criteria Person Responsible for Implementation Resources Required Timescale to be completed by Monitoring Impact Measures
Ofsted identified Issue 3:
•
Improvement to be Completed
Actions Needed How they will be
implemented Outcome/ Success Criteria Person Responsible for Implementation Resources Required Timescale to be completed by Monitoring Impact Measures
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SECTION 4 – PAYMENTS
4.1
Single Funding Formula
This funding applies to all providers delivering the Early Years Entitlement to eligible three and four year olds. The funding is based on the number of children attending your setting and the entitlement hours they claim.
The amount of funding you receive will be based on a basic hourly rate plus any additional supplements.
From April 2015 Supplements are granted for qualified professional staff, flexibility and deprivation. Before the beginning of each financial year, you will receive a provisional funding estimate detailing how much Early Years Entitlement funding you will receive for that year, based on the hours claimed in the previous year.
The funding formula will be reviewed on an annual basis and rates and supplements may be adjusted.
4.2
Conditions Regarding Charging Parents
1 Providers must have a written fees policy that includes debt management. This must clearly state all charges and how funded hours will be shown on parents’ bills (See Section 2 Appendices 1-6)
2 Providers must have in operation a business bank account. Monies cannot be paid to private individuals’ bank accounts with the exception of funded childminders.
3 Funding is paid directly to schools for children attending a Local Authority nursery or reception class.
4 Funding will not be paid for any child until a signed Child Registration form and appropriate legal documentation (birth certificate/passport) has been received by the Entitlements Team from each setting that the child attends. This must be received by the stipulated due date for the funding period.
5 Claim forms and Parent’s Declaration forms will be automatically sent to registered providers with the required due dates stated on the covering letters and the claim forms.
6 Any forms relating to Early Years Entitlement must be returned by the stipulated due date to the Entitlements Team, Somerset County Council, County Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY. Payment will not be guaranteed against any forms received after the given due date.
7 Having verified a completed estimate form, the Local Authority will make a payment of 90% of the verified hours to the provider, during the first part of the funding period. If providers are continually overpaid due to over estimation, the Local Authority will reduce the percentage of funding paid based on the estimate form.
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8 It is up to the parent/main carer to decide the number of hours claimed at each provider up to the maximum entitlement.
9 It is the responsibility of providers to ensure that all claims are accurate and that the Parent’s Declaration forms have been completed and signed by the parent/main carer.
10 Providers must ensure that the parent/main carer signs any changes to Parent Declaration forms. If any discrepancies relating to child data arise between the Actual form and the Parent’s Declaration form, the Entitlements Team will contact the parent/main carer for clarification. It is on the basis of this decision that the funding will be paid to the provider.
11 The information on the Parent Declaration forms and Actual forms need to match. It is the responsibility of the provider to check these forms before they are sent to the Entitlements Team. If there is a discrepancy between the hours claimed on the Actual form and the Parent Declaration form, the lower figure will be paid. If the hours claimed for a child have been left blank on either form, then no hours will be funded, even if the other form is completed in full.
12 All providers on the Directory have the opportunity to amend (increase or decrease) their claim by the end of the funding period via an Adjustment form. It is the providers’ responsibility to ensure this form is completed accurately and any errors will result in the provider not being paid for that child. The Local Authority will not clarify errors. It is good business practice to ensure that adjustment forms are completed at the time that a change needs to be made and returned to the Entitlement team as soon as this change occurs. Adjustment forms are sent out by the Entitlements Team and need to be returned by the stipulated due date, but can be returned at any time up to that date. Please do not wait until the end date. Any forms (including any paperwork relating to the claim) that are received after this end date may be processed but a late payment fee of £50.00 will be charged to cover administration. Late adjustment forms will only be processed if a cheque for the amount of £50.00 is attached to the adjustment form. Cheques should be made payable to Somerset County Council. Adjustment forms must be returned for children who no longer attend the setting. Where an adjustment form is late and only involves a reduction in payment to the provider the Local Authority will consider an Amnesty in terms of processing the form and no payment will be required in order to process the form. Where a form includes both reductions and increases and the total sum equals a payment to the provider then a cheque must accompany the late adjustment form in order for the form to be processed and the payment to be made to the provider.
13 Where providers are using an Adjustment form to increase the number of hours claimed, a Parent Declaration form must be attached and it should be noted that any hours claimed on another provider’s Actual form will take precedence.
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14 Where a child has not accessed the number of hours that was claimed on the Actual form, it is the provider’s responsibility to complete an Adjustment form and decrease the number of hours claimed for that funding period. Multiple adjustment forms can be submitted. It is good practice to submit the adjustment form for the reduction immediately after the child has left the setting or permanently reduced their hours.
The adjustment form must be received by the stipulated due date. If it is discovered (for example via an audit) that an Adjustment form has not been submitted when a child has not accessed all the hours at that setting, the provider will be given a warning. Not submitting a reduction is considered to be fraud and further action may deem to be necessary if this offence is repeated.
15 Once all completed Actual forms have been verified and processed, the Local Authority will pay the balance of the claim to the provider. Failure to submit accurate final claims will result in the Local Authority asking the provider to return the 90% funding paid to the provider during the first part of the funding period. In the event that the provider does not make the repayment, the Local Authority will withhold future funding and may decide to remove the provider from the Directory.
16 If the Local Authority makes an overpayment to the provider, the Local Authority will reclaim the overpayment from the provider. The Local Authority will work with the provider to agree arrangements to repay the overpayment. If the provider does not repay the monies outstanding, the Local Authority will withhold future funding from the provider and may decide to remove the provider from the Directory and pursue recovering the funds.
17 The Local Authority may request a copy of the provider’s attendance register at any time. The provider should retain the original register and send the Local Authority a copy only.
18 The Local Authority may request a copy of the provider’s admission policy, written fees policy and accounts at any time.
19 Where providers are aware that parents/carers are moving address then parents should be advised to complete the online change of address form on the Somerset County Council website or by giving the parent a copy of the change of address form. This form is available from the Entitlements Team. If the current address is not held, SCC may be unable to forward important information e.g. applying for a school place.
4.3
Children Who Are Absent
Where a child attending has recurring absences or is absent for an extended period, providers should notify the Entitlements Team to discuss whether funding will be reduced accordingly. There is no obligation for a child to attend for all of their agreed attendance pattern. However, prolonged absences and failure to attend for agreed hours on agreed days should be notified as part of Somerset’s audit procedure (also see Section 5 – Working in Partnership).
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4.4
Children Who Leave Without Giving Notice
Where a child leaves a setting without giving notice, Somerset County Council will fund the Early Years Entitlement for a standard notice period of up to a maximum of 4 weeks from the last day of attendance. Providers may be required to provide a copy of the parent’s contract which clearly sets out the notice period. This contract must be signed and dated.
4.5
Cross Border Arrangements
The provider that the child attends, not the home post code, will determine which Local Authority funds the provision for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year old children. Where a child attends and claims funding in a setting in Somerset and in another county, the local authorities concerned will calculate how the funding will be allocated. Providers must ensure that this information is included on the Parent Declaration form.