Management Information Sheet
Early Years and First Year of Schooling Funding Notes
Early Years Special and Additional Needs (S&AN)
Funding Guidance April 2007
- A child with S+AN may receive up to and including the term of his/her 3rd birthday a maximum of 5 hours/week in pre-school
- In exceptional social circumstances additional sessions/time such as a lunch-break may be funded
After a child's 3rd birthday
- After the 3rd birthday term the child is entitled to attend the equivalent of 5 funded sessions x 2.5 hours over 38 weeks, which is a total of 12.5 hours/week
- If the child is on the roll of any school each full day is the equivalent of 2 x 2.5 hour sessions
- If the child has a statement the provision written in the statement is pro-rata'd to the level of attendance up to the maximum entitlement e.g. 25 hours in a statement would equate to 12.5 hours pre-school
- For children who do not have a statement the maximum funded entitlement to pre-school funding is also12.5hours/week or 5 x 2.5 hour sessions
- It is important to be aware of the difference between the national requirement to ensure that a child attends school and the Norfolk admissions policy
- * Nationally parents are required to ensure that their child has full-time education from the beginning of the term after their 5th birthday. For children born in the summer term months this could mean that they do not receive any education in the state system during Year R at all. E.g. children born on April1st - August 31st may not receive education in the state system until September of the academic year in which they will have their 6th birthday i.e.Y1
* The Norfolk Admissions Policy is that in Norfolk community and voluntary controlled schools children born between 1 September and the end of February may start school full-time no earlier than the beginning of the autumn term before their fifth birthday. Children born between the 1 March and 31 August may start school part-time no earlier than the beginning of the autumn term before their fifth birthday and full-time at the beginning of the spring term before their fifth birthday.
* This policy has also been strongly recommended for adoption by voluntary aided and foundation schools but parents must check the actual admission arrangements for these schools as detailed in the school lists
- Prior to accepting the entitlement of a Year R placement parents can 'mix and match private, voluntary or independent (PVI) and maintained pre-school provision to meet the full entitlement of 12.5 hours, e.g.3 mornings in a LA maintained Nursery or nursery class and two sessions at a PVI setting
- Once a parent accepts a place in YR, any additional sessions in a PVI setting would be at the parents' expense. This applies both to the cost of the placement and any additional support. YR places must always be 5 sessions/week
First Year of Schooling (FYOS) for pupils entering school at Action Plus or whose level of intervention is accelerated to Action Plus on entry to school.
- In Norfolk the funding system enables a level of Pupil Specific Funding to be made available to provide additional support for children with S&AN who do not have statements of SEN. Such children will have special needs above the level which could reasonably be expected to be provided by a maintained school at Action Plus
- This arrangement is set up in order to allow early interventions and support during the transition for children who are presenting with significant S&AN when they first enter the maintained education sector and to provide an opportunity for their longer term needs to be identified
- The provision provides support for children in their first year (3 terms, irrespective of entry date) in maintained provision. Children who have been in maintained provision for more than 3 terms are not eligible for FYOS
- This provision applies to a nursery class or a reception class in a LA maintained school. There will always be consideration of the use of the block allocation in a nursery class and it is expected that the school will provide the first 5 hours of provision in a reception class
- Once the child has been in such provision for more than 3 terms his/her FYOS funding ceases
- Qualified teachers will, within the first year of schooling, be able identify and provide for the needs of such pupils and refer those who require a statutory assessment of their special educational needs by the end of that first year. Schools and settings are expected to liaise in order to ensure a smooth transition of a child from setting to school. FYOS will not be extended beyond the first year (3 terms) of attendance in school, except in exceptional circumstance which are detailed below
- Schools must engage with their School Support Team and other appropriate professionals within 6 months of the school start date to ensure that proper identification and assessment of the child's needs are undertaken. Funding will not be extended into the second year of schooling unless statutory assessment has been agreed and there is a need to maintain provision until the process is completed. In such cases the school must reapply for an extension of the FYOS. It will not happen automatically
- Schools must apply for FYOS on the appropriate forms, which are available from the named SEN Caseworker for the school