Funding paid to childcare providers must be used to deliver funded early education places to eligible children.
Funded hours must be provided free of charge to families at the point of delivery and must not be subject to any condition of access.
Funded entitlement claims are submitted through the EYES Portal.
Before submitting a funding claim
Before claiming funding, providers must:
- Obtain a fully completed Parent Declaration Form. All relevant sections must be completed by both the parent or carer and the provider, with all required signatures and dates recorded.
- Complete any required eligibility checks before offering a funded place, including validating Working Parent Entitlement codes where applicable.
- Ensure the child has started attending before submitting a funding claim.
Eligibility checks are not required for children accessing Universal Funding for 3 and 4-Year-Olds.
Submitting claims
Providers should only claim funding for the hours a child is accessing.
For example, if a child is entitled to 30 funded hours but attends for 20 hours per week, the claim should be submitted for 20 hours.
Manchester City Council does not use estimated claims or adjustment tasks. Providers should ensure children are added to, and removed from, their live register as attendance changes throughout the term. This helps ensure funding payments are accurate.
Funding periods
Funding is available across the following terms:
- Spring term – 12 weeks
- Summer term – 13 weeks
- Autumn term – 13 weeks
Providers may choose to stretch funding across more than 38 weeks. Any stretched offer is a private arrangement between the provider and the parent or carer and must be recorded on the signed Parent Declaration Form.
Funding claims can only be submitted as term-time claims through the Provider Portal.
Headcount claims
One headcount is completed each term during the first month of the term.
Children attending before the headcount date should be added to the live register and included in the headcount submission.
Providers must not submit claims for children who have not yet started attending their funded place.
Mid-term joiners
Children who start attending after the headcount submission should be added to the live register as soon as they begin their funded place.
Funding can then be claimed as a mid-term joiner.
Children moving between providers
Different funding rules apply when children move between providers during a term.
- Children aged 9 months to 2 years can move providers during a term, provided there are at least 3 weeks remaining in the term and the child has at least 3 weeks of funded entitlement remaining.
- Providers caring for children aged 9 months to 2 years may apply a notice period of up to 4 weeks. Any notice period should be clearly set out in the provider's contract, as this may affect the amount of funded entitlement available at a new setting.
- For children aged 3 and 4, funding is linked to National Headcount Day. Funding arrangements will depend on when the child leaves one provider and starts at another during the term.
- Where a child attends more than one provider, funded hours must be shared appropriately and must not exceed the child's entitlement.
For full details about moving between providers, attending more than one setting and funding arrangements, please refer to the Operational Guidance.