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Providing funded early education for two year olds

This page is for childcare providers that want to find out more about offering Funded Early Education for Two year olds (FEET). If you're a parent find out how FEET can help you and your child.

What is FEET?

Funded Early Education for Two-year olds (FEET) aims to ensure that all children achieve a good level of development by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage and that the gap in attainment between the most disadvantaged children and their peers, is closed. The funded entitlement strives to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion by facilitating early identification and early intervention.

The two-year old entitlement also supports parents to be able to access employment and/or further education.

Eligible two year olds can access up to 570 hours of funded early education a year (from the funded period after their child's second birthday). You can offer this as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks a year (term time offer) or you may want to spread the total number of funded hours over term time and school holidays by offering fewer hours each week (stretched offer).

Further information regarding delivering funded entitlements is available within the statutory guidance for local authorities.

Who can offer FEET?

To be able to offer FEET, your setting must be one of the following:

  • A childminder registered with Ofsted or a childminder registered with a childminding agency which is registered with Ofsted.
  • Private, voluntary and independent providers registered either on the Ofsted Early Years Register as a childcare provider or with the Department for Education as an independent school.
  • Nursery schools, nursery classes or units funded by the local education authority.
  • Academies.
  • Funded schools.

You also need to meet one of the following quality criteria:

  • have received an outstanding or good Ofsted outcome
  • be a new provider registered with Ofsted awaiting your first full Ofsted inspection judgement to be published
  • have an Ofsted inspection judgement of 'met' until your Ofsted quality inspection judgement is published.
  • Or, if you received a satisfactory or requires improvement outcome and are in a high priority area for FEET, we will consider your application on an individual basis. If you have received an inadequate Ofsted outcome you cannot offer Funded Early Education for Two Year Olds until you get an improved Ofsted outcome.

Your setting must also be registered on the Surrey County Council Directory of Providers to offer Funded Early Education for Two year olds. Find out how to become a funded early education provider.

How can I check parents are eligible?

Parents can apply by filling in a FEET Application Form (PDF), if a parent needs a paper application form in the post, they can contact Family Information Service (FIS) on 0300 200 1004 or email fundedearlyeducation@surreycc.gov.uk.

If we get sent an application form early (one term before the funding would start) our Funded Early Education Team will keep it on file and contact the parent at the start of the funded period when their child turns two.

Before you offer a child a place, you must make sure that they appear in the Funded Early Education Portal as this confirms they qualify for FEET and that we'll be able to fund them. Ask the parent to fill in the 'permission to search' section of the Funded Early Education Declaration Form before you check they're eligible.

How do I claim FEET funding?

Once you've applied to become a funded early education provider and are registered on Surrey County Council's Directory of Providers, you'll be able to make claims through our online Funded Early Education Portal. The Funded Early Education Team pays FEET funding directly to childcare providers.

All claims for funded hours must be made on a term time basis (over 38 weeks per year). Childcare providers can continue to stretch the term-time hours themselves and may choose to offer these stretched across the year if they wish to rather than just over 38 weeks.

Please note that when delivering funded entitlement there are a maximum number of funded hours you can claim in a period. If delivering funded hours on a stretched basis, the number of hours a child can stretch depends on the hours they are entitled to and which period they start claiming from, as well as the number of weeks you are open.

If you are delivering funded hours on a stretched basis you should make parents aware that at certain points of the year, it may be that you have offered more funded hours than you have been able to claim. In this situation, you may need to invoice parents for these additional hours. This would be at your standard charge and you would need to make this clear in your terms and conditions.

Please see the Stretched Funding Guidance, Information slides, and frequently asked questions available on the Providing Funded Early Education web page for further details.

The Provider Agreement explains how you can deliver funded early education, you can download all the relevant forms you'll need from the Providing funded early education web page including further information around charges within the charging guidance.

Key dates

Visit the useful dates webpage for headcount days, funded periods, estimate payment dates and follow on payments dates.

How much will I be paid?

The current rate (2024/2025) is £8.54.

Please note that FEET funded children must be able to access their entitlement with no additional charges.

How can I promote FEET?

We have a range of resources available for early years providers, family centres, partner agencies or any other professional involved with families. These include posters, leaflets, QR codes and banners.

If you would like further support around marketing and promotion, please contact the Early Years Commissioning Team at eycommissioningteam@surreycc.gov.uk.

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding payments please email the Funded Early Education Team at fundedearlyeducation@surreycc.gov.uk.

If you have any questions about offering FEET places please email the Early Years Commissioning Team at eycommissioningteam@surreycc.gov.uk.

If you need to post anything, send it to Funded Early Education Team, Surrey County Council, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, RH2 8EF

You can advertise your provision, any changes to your offer, and available places via our Childcare Finder website. Please complete the appropriate online form if you wish to give consent for your provider details to be shared.

Files available to download

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