Nursery World - Councils 'can transfer funding between settings'

Councils are being encouraged to transfer early entitlement funding between early years settings if it helps them to create enough childcare places for key worker children.

The Department for Education said this morning that it plans to issue new guidance on the ‘steps [councils] will need to take if moving around government funding between settings’.

This temporary relaxation of the rules applies ‘where all other options have been explored’ and ‘more childcare places are still needed locally’ as a result of coronavirus. This could be where the child’s original setting has had to close.

The Early Years Alliance has said this 'essentially means councils will be allowed to give more funding to providers remaining open, and less to those who have been forced to close.' They have criticised the move, saying this is another example of the Government 'moving the goalposts for the early years sector at the last minute' and saying that it will unfairly penalise settings which have had to close.

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