Nursery World - Coronavirus: Government confirms settings will receive childcare funding if they have to close

Government funding for the 15 and 30 hours childcare offers will continue if early years settings have to close, or where children cannot attend due to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The DfE has confirmed that funding would still be paid to childcare providers if they had to close or a child had to self isolate due to the Coronavirus

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the move this afternoon, with the intention of providing reassurance for early years settings.

The Department for Education (DfE) said that local authorities should follow its position and continue to pass on the Government funding it receives for the two-, three- and four-year-old places to providers in the event that any are advised to close by Public Health England or children are not able to attend due to the virus, to minimise short-term disruption.

The announcement comes after the sector called for urgent action from the Government to support settings during the Coronavirus pandemic. As part of this, they asked for confirmation about whether funding would still be paid to providers if they had to close.

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