The Equality Act 2010 requires local authorities to make adjustments for disabled children where it is reasonable to do so. Local authorities must comply with the provisions of the Act in finding suitable provision for eligible disabled children.
The Disability Access Fund (DAF) was introduced to support disabled children’s access to the entitlements for 3 and 4-year-olds. From 2024 to 2025, DAF eligibility was extended to eligible 2-year-olds and children 9 months old to 2 years, accessing the entitlements.
DAF can be used, for example, to support providers in making reasonable adjustments to their settings and/or helping with building capacity, be that for the child in question or for the benefit of all children attending the setting. Settings may want to use DAF to pay for staff training to help meet children’s specific needs, resources and adjustments to support the individual child’s needs.
From April 2026 childcare providers can receive £1225 per year for every child who meets the eligibility criteria.
If a child eligible for the DAF is splitting their free entitlement across 2 or more providers, local authorities should ask parents to nominate the main setting. Local authorities should pay the DAF for the child to that nominated main setting. If a child is receiving DAF moves from one setting to another, the new setting is not eligible to receive DAF for this child until the anniversary of the first payment has passed. DAF received by the original setting will not be recouped and resources remain the property of that setting, however, we encourage providers to transfer relevant resources or unspent funding to ensure continued support of the eligible child in their new Early Years setting.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible children must be:
- Aged 9 months to 4 years old
- Using funded early education and childcare;
- Universal 15 hours for 3 and 4 year-olds
- 15 hours for 2 year olds of families requiring additional support (FEET in Surrey)
- 30 hours entitlement for children aged 9 months to 4 years of working parents
- In receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
The child does not need to be using all their funded early education and childcare hours for their childcare provider to be able to receive the full amount of DAF funding.
Please note, four year olds in primary school reception classes are not eligible for DAF funding.
What can the funding be used for?
The funding is available to help childcare providers make reasonable adjustments at their setting to improve children's access to funded early education. It will be paid directly to the childcare provider, and they will be able to decide how it should be spent.
The funding cannot be used towards childcare fees.
How to apply?
To apply for the funding you will need to ask parent(s) to complete all of the Parent Declaration Form (PDF) and along with a copy of the child's Disability Living Allowance (DLA) eligibility letter, the setting can then apply for DAF on the Early Years Education System (EYES) portal.
If the child attends more than one childcare setting, the parent will need to choose which one they want to receive the funding.
Surrey County Council can issue DAF payments to Early Years (EY) providers as soon as the child takes up their funded entitlement. For example, if a child turns three in the summer term, they will be able to take up their entitlement in the autumn term and Surrey County Council can issue the first DAF payment as quickly as possible in that term.
Where children are still eligible for DAF, providers can receive a second payment one year later; that is, one year after they first received the DAF. A new application should be submitted.
This means that instead of getting a payment at the beginning of the new financial/ academic year, the EY provider can apply for an additional payment each year after the first one was paid.
What if the child moves to another childcare provider part way through the year?
The funding is not transferable. If the child moves to another childcare provider, it will stay with the original setting until 12 months following receipt of the first DAF payment.