Issue - meetings

The request is for CYPS Executive Members to agree recommendations in respect of the funding rates paid to early years’ providers for the funded entitlement for 3 & 4-year-olds, 2-year-olds of families in receipt of additional support, 2-year-olds of working families and under 2-year-olds of working families for the 2025/26 financial year.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director, Children and Young People’s Service, providing an overview of the proposed operation of the Early Years Supplementary Grant.

Councillor Annabel Wilkinson introduced the report, seeking to comply with grant acceptance requirements of the North Yorkshire Council Financial Procedure Rules and to provide prompt payment of the Early Years Supplementary Grant, with the associated financial benefit, to the early years sector within North Yorkshire. The grant was announced earlier this year by the Department of Education, to increase the funding levels paid to the early years sector for the period September 2023 to March 2024.

Howard Emmett, Assistant Director - Resources, noted the risk that the grant terms and conditions will not be released by the Department of Education until mid to late September, but following dialogue with government officials, officers are content that the risk is mitigated by the use of monthly payments.

Resolved -

That the Executive:

i.        Approve the acceptance of the Early Years Supplementary Grant which is scheduled to be received in September 2023 with the initial grant funding allocation estimated to be £1.8m.

ii.       Approve the Early Years Supplementary Grant to be paid in full to early years providers, as per the DfE requirement, at the funding rates detailed in section 4.2 of this report.

iii.      Approve the payment of the Early Years Supplementary Grant to commence in the local authority monthly payment to early years providers in September 2023. The Executive is asked to note that the payment will be required to be processed in advance of the conditions of grant being received from the DfE.