Nursery Education Grant (NEG) Funding

Free Entitlement (Early Years provision) funding is provided by the government. The funding ensures that all children between the ages of 3 and 5 have access to a good quality early education. 

Eligibility - All children are eligible for funding the term after they become 3.

A child born between:	Will be eligible for a funded place from:
1st April and 31st August	The start of the autumn term (1st September) following their 3rd birthday until statutory school age.
1st September and 31st December	The start of the spring term (1st January) following their 3rd birthday until statutory school age.
1st January and 31st March	The start of the summer term (1st April) following their 3rd birthday until statutory school age.

If there are any queries about a child’s eligibility, please call the Children’s Information Service on 01243 777807.

Funding

The funding currently pays for up to five two and a half hour sessions per week per child for a maximum of 38 weeks per year. Any additional weeks must be paid for by the parent/carer. The number of sessions taken can vary according to the needs of the child and two sessions may be taken in one day. A child may attend more than one setting and, provided they do not claim more than the maximum number of sessions allowed per week, they can divide their funded sessions between two or more settings.

Free Entitlement (Early Years provision)

The setting is responsible for claiming the Free Entitlement (Early Years provision) funding for all eligible children who attend their establishment. The payments are based on the details of children submitted by the setting each term, showing how many sessions per week each child is claiming. There are two submissions per term, one made towards the end of the previous term to provide an estimate of children expected to attend the setting and the other giving the actual headcount on a given day about two weeks into the term.

The first submission is made by completing an Estimate Proforma provided by the West Sussex Early Years (Financial Services) team. This is sent to Nursery Providers at the end of each term. You can download this proforma from the bottom of this page. The form can be filled in manually and sent back to Financial Services or completed electronically and returned by E-mail.

Payments

Payment of the Nursery Education Grant is made by two instalments each term.   

• The initial payment will be based on the estimate of the eligible children on roll that are due to attend the establishment at the beginning of the term.
• The balancing payment will be based on the headcount of eligible children that normally takes place within three weeks of the start of the term.

Timetable

The timetable for submission of the claim forms, performing the headcount and receiving payment will be published each term.