Early Years and Childcare

Childcare Expansion Capital Funding

Background

In the Government's Spring Budget 2023, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare, including:

• The introduction of 30 hours of free childcare for children over the age of nine months. This was introduced in phases from April 2024, with all qualifying working parents able to access 30 hours a week for their children aged 9 months to 3 years from September 2025.
• Investing in start-up funding to increase the supply of wraparound care in primary schools.

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) was allocated £1.87 million in capital grant funding to contribute towards capital costs associated with projects that increase the supply of early education and childcare places and/or wraparound childcare for primary school-aged children.

Following previous rounds of funding, there is currently up to £130,000 of capital grant funding remaining. WSCC is therefore reopening applications and inviting providers and schools to submit projects that support the creation of additional early education and childcare places.

Please note that funding is limited and unlikely to fully fund the cost of a new building. However, it may contribute towards capital projects where there is clear evidence of demand for additional early education and childcare places. Applications of up to £50,000 will be considered.

WSCC will continue to focus on projects that:

• Increase the physical capacity of early years and wraparound childcare provision.
• Support delivery of the childcare expansion programme.
• Adapt or improve facilities to increase usage or make places available for a wider range of needs, including children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
• Address sufficiency needs in areas where demand is expected to exceed supply.

Where necessary, priority may be given to projects that increase capacity for specific age groups or geographical areas where additional provision is most needed. Projects will be assessed in line with the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant - Allocations Guidance (opens in new window)(External link) and reviewed by the capital grant funding panel. Where available funding is fully allocated, projects that are considered eligible and support local sufficiency priorities may be held in reserve for consideration should further funding opportunities become available.

How to Apply

Providers wishing to explore a potential application must first contact their local Setting Support team and work with an Early Years and Childcare Advisor (EYCA) to discuss their proposed project and develop their application.

Contact your local Setting Support inbox:

• Chichester – SettingSupportChichester@westsussex.gov.uk
• Horsham – SettingSupportHorsham@westsussex.gov.uk
• Adur & Worthing – SettingSupportAdurWorthing@westsussex.gov.uk
• Mid Sussex – SettingSupportMidSussex@westsussex.gov.uk
• Crawley – SettingSupportCrawley@westsussex.gov.uk
• Arun - SettingSupportArun@westsussex.gov.uk

EYCAs will support applicants to ensure proposals are fully developed and submission-ready before an application is submitted to the Childcare Expansion Grants mailbox.

Please find attached in the document section the Childcare Expansion Capital Grant Funding Application Form. In addition to completing the application form, applicants must also submit all supporting documents detailed within the application checklist.

To assess cost certainty, applicants are required to provide:

• A detailed breakdown of all proposed expenditure.
• A quotation or estimate for each element of work. Three quotations or estimates for each element of work valued at £15,000 or above.
• Costs within the application form that align with the preferred quotation(s).

Incomplete applications or applications submitted without all required supporting documentation will not be considered for panel assessment until all information has been received.

Applications for Projects on School Sites

Where childcare provision operates from a school site, the application must be submitted by the school. Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) providers operating on school sites should work closely with the school to develop the project proposal and application. The school will be the lead applicant, receive any grant funding awarded (retrospectively), and be responsible for meeting applicable grant conditions.

Assessment and Panel Arrangements

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and considered by the capital grant funding panel, subject to eligibility, available funding and panel approval.

There is no deadline to apply. However, only fully completed applications received in advance of a panel meeting will be considered at that panel. Due to the limited funding available, applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis. Please note, submission of an application does not guarantee funding. WSCC reserves the right to close applications where demand is high.

Panel dates:

• Thursday 3 December 2026
• Tuesday 26 January 2027 (final scheduled panel)

Where possible, WSCC may assess applications outside of these panel dates.

For any questions regarding the capital grant programme, please contact: ChildcareExpansionGrants@westsussex.gov.uk

Supporting Documents

Providers are advised to read the following documents thoroughly before submitting their application:

• Childcare Expansion Capital Grant Funding (Opens in new window)(External link)
• Childcare Expansion Capital Grant - Allocations Guidance (Opens in new window)(External link)
• Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (Opens in new window)(External link)
• National Childcare Wraparound Programme Handbook (Opens in new window)

Capital Grant Payments

A project number will be assigned to successful projects by the Council and a purchase order raised against the approved grant value.

Capital grant funding is paid retrospectively following completion of eligible works, submission of satisfactory evidence of expenditure, and confirmation that any grant conditions have been met.

For projects based on school sites, payments will be made to the school as the grant recipient. Schools may be subject to specific grant conditions and monitoring requirements as part of the funding agreement.

Providers who do not have an existing vendor account with WSCC, or who have changed their payment details, will need a vendor account to be established before payment can be made via BACS.

Non-academy schools will be paid retrospectively via journal following submission of evidence of paid-for works and confirmation that any grant conditions have been met.

Privacy Statement

West Sussex County Council will use this expression of interest to collect some personal data which is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject and/or take steps to enter into a further contract. This data will be processed in accordance with the 2018 Data Protection Act, the UK General Data Protection Regulations and any subsequent relevant data and will only be used for the purpose stated. The data we collect will be held securely on computer for a period of up to seven years before being appropriately destroyed. We will not use the data for any other purpose. West Sussex County Council is registered as Data Controller (Reg. No. Z6413427). For further information, please see the West Sussex County Council Privacy Policy(opens in new window).

Accessibility and Alternate Formats

If you require any of this information in an alternative format, then please contact us by phone 01243 777807 or via email at ChildcareExpansionGrants@westsussex.gov.uk and we will assist you.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 01243 777807.

For more information about the accessibility of this website, please see our Accessibility tab (opens in new window) at the foot of the page.