To approve the proposal to continue to make
reduced payments of early years entitlement funding for 2, 3- &
4-year olds to settings and childminders closed during the
coronavirus pandemic. This will be a phased approach moving from
80% in May, to 100% funding for September as detailed in the paper.
This will create a pool of funds to pay settings who accept higher
numbers of children than they originally estimated and make
standard payments to open settings to contribute towards the costs
of PPE and additional cleaning.
This scheme will pay Childminders and Group Settings a one-off
payment to contribute towards these additional costs, and will be
£150 for Childminders, and £1000 for Group Settings.
The alternative option consulted on was to pay open settings
£10 per child per week. We have consulted with all childcare
providers on which is the preferred option before making a
decision, and results are in the paper below. This will replace the
£100 per child per week additional payment to settings,
agreed in April, as this will not be sustainable as more settings
are requested to open.
Up until 31 May 2020, settings have been open to children of key
workers, to children with a social worker or those with an
education health & care plan (EHCP). With effect from 1 June
2020, it is the government’s expectation that all settings
will be open to all children where possible.