Free Early Education Entitlement - Getting ready for Autumn 2020
Letter dated 13.07.20
Dear Provider,
The following information is subject to change in accordance with future amendments to the statutory guidance /law regarding COVID-19
To assist you in preparing for September 2020, please find attached to this email 4 documents for your perusal. Below you will find a table with further information about each document:
|
|
Document Name |
Description |
Action |
|
1 |
EYR1 Parent Declaration Form Autumn 2020 2021 |
Your contract with the parent(s) who would like you to claim their child’s free hours between Sept 2020 and Aug 2021. |
Ensure every child’s parent signs this form prior to the start of each term. You are welcome to restructure this form into your own corporate format as long as all of the data is still collected and you share BCC’s GDPR information. EYR1 forms are NOT REQUIRED for children who do not claim any free hours at all. |
|
2 |
EYR20 FEEE Diary Dates 2020/2021 |
A handy list of dates for all estimates, headcounts and payments. |
Keep this somewhere safe to refer to it so you don’t miss any deadlines for submitting your information to BCC. |
|
3 |
2020/2021 FEEE Funded Days Calendar -Provider Version |
A visual calendar of the funded days each term. |
Keep this somewhere safe to refer to. You may ‘swap’ days and weeks, but try to keep them within the same term so that your finances are not affected. You do NOT need to report any amendments to BCC unless you cannot fulfil the full number of funded hours per year (see item 4 below). |
|
4 |
Free Entitlement – Exemption from full funding form 2020/2021 |
A form to calculate the number of weeks in each term if you offer a shorter than usual term length. |
Only to be completed by providers who will not be delivering the full 38 (term time only) or 47.5 (all year round) weeks in 2020/2021, e.g. some Independent Schools. Forms must be returned to BCC by Friday 3rd July 2020. |
Getting ready for Autumn 2020…
- EYR1 Parent Declaration Forms – Please get this signed by both parents (if applicable to the household) before each term starts. This is particularly important for children claiming 30 hours free childcare! Ideally the form should be signed no more than 1 calendar month before the term starts. If a parent wishes to sign all 3 terms in advance, please make it very clear that they are making a long term commitment and that they will require your permission to break this commitment if they choose to change providers at any time.
- Children who are deferring or delaying their entry to Reception – Any provider may offer a place to a child whose parents have chosen to defer or delay their child’s entry to Reception, as long as the provider has:
- a) seen and taken a copy of the confirmation from Bristol City Council’s School Admission’s Team that this has been agreed and
- b) that the child is still young enough to claim their free hours. Children can claim their free hours until the end of the term in which they have their 5th birthday (e.g. a child whose 5th birthday is 13th April can carry on claiming until 31st August) at which time they will reach ‘compulsory school age’ https://www.gov.uk/schools-admissions/school-starting-age
- Children who are starting Reception in Sept 2020, but not straight away – All children who have accepted a school / academy place for Sept 2020 are not permitted to claim any free hours with any other provider from 1st September 2020. This is because their school / academy will be claiming all of their free hours from 1st September 2020, regardless of when the first day of term is or when the child starts attending full time. Of course, during September parents may require ad hoc childcare from their child’s previous nursery or childminder, but this must be paid privately in full by the parent.
- Maintaining your registration as a provider with Bristol City Council in 2020/2021 – there is no need to reconfirm your delivery method (term time only or all year round) as in previous years. We will continue your existing registration as it currently is. If you need to make a change or wish to resign from offering free hours, please contact 0117 3773221 or 07827 348719.
Finally, this year has been exceptional, with pressures that could not have been foreseen. On behalf of the business support team, we wanted to extend our personal thanks to each of you (and your wider teams) for your outstanding diligence, bravery and stamina during COVID-19 so far, so ‘Thank You!’.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of these attachments, please reply to this email. Regards,
Deborah
Contacts
Deborah Brown - (General Enquries)
Dawn Butler - (General Enquiries)
Nicola Theobald - (General and Nursery School Enquiries)