Each term, early years providers across England must submit funded hours claims to their Local Authority, a process that involves collecting parent declarations, verifying eligibility, and entering headcount data into a Local Authority portal. It is a process that touches every setting, regardless of size, and one that comes with real financial consequences if it goes wrong.
This guide walks through what the funding submission process involves, where things commonly go wrong, and how providers can manage it more efficiently each term.
What is a headcount submission?
A headcount submission is the process by which early years providers formally notify their Local Authority of how many funded children they have each term, and how many hours each child is claiming. The Local Authority uses this information to calculate and pay funding for the term.
Submissions are made through the Local Authority’s online portal, and deadlines are set each term. Missing a deadline, or submitting incomplete or inaccurate information, can mean a setting does not receive the funding it is entitled to for that term.
Understanding funded hours entitlements
Funded childcare hours in England depend on a child’s age and family circumstances. All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week during term time, regardless of whether parents are working. Eligible working parents of three and four year olds can access an additional 15 hours on top of this, giving a total of 30 hours per week.
Eligible working parents of children from nine months old are entitled to 30 hours of funded childcare per week, with no separate universal entitlement for this age group. Some two year olds are also entitled to 15 hours of early learning funding, based on family circumstances such as receipt of certain benefits, or a child being looked after by a Local Authority.
Funded hours can be taken on a term-time basis, across approximately 38 weeks of the year, or on a stretched basis, where the same total annual hours are spread across more weeks at a lower weekly amount.
Full details of current entitlements are available from the government’s childcare guidance for providers.
The Parental Declaration form
A Parental Declaration form is a document that parents must complete to confirm their child’s eligibility for funded childcare hours. It captures the child’s details, including date of birth, the funded hours being claimed, whether the child attends another setting, and the parent’s working parent eligibility code where applicable.
Providers are required to hold a completed, signed Parental Declaration form for every child they claim funded hours for. If a form is not returned before the submission deadline, that child cannot be included in the headcount.
Working parent eligibility codes
Parents claiming Working Parent funded hours must reconfirm their eligibility with HMRC every three months, through the government’s Childcare Service. If a code lapses before a setting submits its headcount, the Local Authority portal will typically reject the claim for that child, and it may not be possible to backdate.
Checking codes well ahead of the submission deadline gives parents time to reconfirm if needed, reducing the risk of losing funding for a child at the last minute.
Common reasons submissions go wrong
A number of issues come up repeatedly when providers submit their headcount each term:
- Expired working parent eligibility codes that have not been reconfirmed with HMRC.
- Missing or incomplete Parental Declaration forms.
- Child details, such as name or date of birth, that do not match between the setting’s records and the Local Authority portal.
- The EYPP section of the declaration form being left blank, meaning Early Years Pupil Premium funding cannot be claimed even where a child is eligible.
- Children recorded as term-time when they are actually on a stretched arrangement, or vice versa, leading to an incorrect weekly figure being submitted.
Managing the process efficiently
Funding Loop is dedicated nursery funding software that streamlines much of the process described above. It guides parents through personalised, pre-filled declaration forms, sent by email and completed digitally with document photos and an electronic signature.
Tapestry has a dedicated Funding Loop export, which generates a file of child and funding data ready to upload directly into Funding Loop, so there is no need to manually re-enter information from one system to the other.
Using Funding Loop means that providers can track responses in real time, send reminders with a single click, and check working parent eligibility codes in bulk at the start of term, rather than checking each one individually.
When it comes to the submission itself, the Funding Loop portal uploader tool works on Capita, Synergy, and Liquid Logic, as well as the custom portals used by Birmingham City Council and Hertfordshire County Council, significantly reducing the time spent manually entering headcount data.
Please note: Funding Loop is not officially endorsed by, affiliated with, or in partnership with any Local Authorities.
For providers managing the process without additional software, Tapestry’s own Funding Allocation report gives a breakdown of booked, funded, and unfunded hours for a setting or an individual room, which can be used to check figures before submitting a headcount. The Attendance report allows providers to cross-check booked funded hours against actual attendance, helping to avoid claiming for children who did not attend as expected.
A simple termly routine
Whichever tools a setting uses, a consistent routine each term helps reduce the risk of errors. Early in the term, check working parent eligibility codes well ahead of the submission deadline, and use the Funding Allocation report to sense-check funded and unfunded hours. Chase any outstanding Parental Declaration forms as soon as possible, rather than waiting until close to the deadline. Before submitting, cross-check attendance against booked funded hours, and check that child names and dates of birth match the Local Authority’s records exactly.
Getting this process right each term protects the funding a setting is entitled to, and reduces the administrative pressure on staff at what is already a busy point in the term.
