Department for Education Guidance on Early Entitlement Funding - Find a freedom of information request

The Department for Education (DFE) guidance on early entitlement funding in the autumn term 2020
states the following:

"From the start of the autumn term 2020, local authorities should continue to fund providers which
are open at broadly the levels they would have expected to see in the 2020 autumn term had there
been no coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. They should also continue to fund providers which have
been advised to close, or left with no option but to close, due to public health reasons. Local
authorities should not fund providers which are closed, without public health reason, from the start of
the autumn term.

"The intention is to fund on the basis of ‘as if autumn term 2020 were happening normally’. In order
to do this, local authorities might, for example, use the numbers of children in places in the previous
autumn to inform funding levels this autumn. This means that if a local authority is aware of
particular changes in catchment demographics that would have impacted local demand (for
example, a big increase in family housing in an area), they should take that into account. Local
authorities should be transparent in the approach they take."

We are trying to ascertain how this guidance is being applied by different local authorities in
England:

1. Is your local authority funding early years providers during the autumn term 2020 using "the
numbers of children in places in the previous autumn to inform funding levels", as suggested
in the DFE guidance?

2. If not, what alternative approach is being taken, and will this approach mean that local
providers are still being funded "as if autumn term 2020 were happening normally"?

1. Yes.

2. N/A.