Today the government has announced changes to the statutory guidance on consumables charging alongside details of the £75 million expansion grant and the future of Stronger Practice Hubs.
1) Statutory guidance changes on consumables charging
The government has published updated guidance today that aims to give parents transparency on allocation of funded hours, charging for top up fees and consumables and that these charges must not be included as a condition for parents accessing their hours. Changes include:
- Costs of chargeable extras and pattern of hours that parents can take the entitlements should be published on provider websites. (childminders and providers caring for 10 children or under at any one time are exempt)
- Invoices should be broken down, itemising free entitlement hours, top up fees and consumables.
- Providing clarity on what is not considered a consumable and should not be charge for.
- Confirmation that top up fees can be charged for but must not be non-descript such as consumables and lunches.
- Top up fees cannot be mandatory charges and cannot be conditions of parents accessing funded entitlement hours.
Updated Early Education and Childcare statutory guidance for local authorities can be found here and attached.
**PACEY is pleased to confirm that following our conversation with DfE, childminders alongside providers caring for 10 children or under at any one time will now be exempt from publishing cost of chargeable extras**
2) £75 million expansion grant details
The government has announced that local authorities will receive their allocation of the £75 million expansion grant by next week. They then have until mid-April at the latest to inform providers. The grant which will be targeted to providers supporting delivery of the expanded 30 hours of government-funded childcare in September and should be focused on 2-year-olds and under. The department for Education has confirmed that local authorities must pass on 100% of the grant to providers and have suggested funding formulas to help them calculate the allocations.
This means that private and voluntary providers, including childminders, are expected to see a share of an average of around £500,000 in local areas. Funding allocations will vary between local authorities, reflecting local circumstances, with some of the largest areas seeing up to £2.1 million.
£75m is equivalent, on average, to an additional £80 per 2-year-old, and £110 per child under-2, though final amounts of funding reaching providers will depend on local circumstances.
Local Authority allocations for the £75 million expansion grant will be confirmed before the end of February. More information on 2025-26 Early Years Entitlement national average funding rates can be found here.
3) Future of Stronger Practice Hubs
The Stronger Practice Hubs programme, which supports early years settings to deliver high-quality education by sharing knowledge and evidence-based approaches via 18 regional Hubs, has been funded for a further year.
More information on the Stronger Practice Hubs programme can be found here.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Giving every child the best start in life is my top priority, and integral to our mission to ensure tens of thousands more children are school ready every year. That’s why despite the inherited challenges we face, we are pressing ahead with the investment and leadership needed to support families and make sure that every child, regardless of background, can access the high-quality early education they deserve. Today marks an important step towards an early years system that is accessible for parents, sustainable for providers, and better serves children’s development.”
