Wraparound Childcare Programme Funding

Overview

The government’s ambition is that by 2026, all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term time childcare in their local area from 8am-6pm, so that parents can access employment and improve labour market participation.

Wraparound Childcare Programme funding is for new or existing childcare providers and schools planning to set up or expand the number of wraparound places they offer as part of the National Wraparound Childcare Programme between September 2024 to September 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) expect all new or expanded wraparound childcare places to be available to parents by September 2025 at the latest.

Wraparound provision can be offered by schools and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers (including childminders and early years settings). Provision can be run on a school site or at another setting in the area. It should not require parents to pick their children up from school and drop them off at another location.

Setting up wraparound childcare

Schools wishing to set up wraparound childcare provision should refer to Start a Childcare Business page for further information and support. If you are a school and considering having a private provider run wraparound provision for you on school site it is important that you go through a selection process. Your school has the responsibility to ensure that any selection process is open, fair and transparent. The process must be owned and led by those responsible for the governance of the school. For example, the Governing Body, the Academy Trust or Diocese. Where the provision will be run by an independent childcare provider, the quality and ethos of the selected provider will reflect on the school which is why it is important to follow a comprehensive, managed process that is right for both the school and the provider. This process is outlined in our supporting documents on Start a childcare business - West Sussex County Council, please refer to the ‘Developing Childcare’, ‘Selecting and High Quality Provider to run childcare at your school’ and the ‘consultation toolkit’.

Additionally, It is important to ensure a lease is in place for the space in which the school intends to rent to provide wraparound childcare which needs to be planned in advance. WSCC will usually only need to involved in negotiating leases for WSCC maintained schools. However in all instances you should contact the Estates team as early as possible in the process, to ensure adequate lead in time, by email to valuations.estates@westsussex.gov.uk to check any particular requirements or considerations that will need to be planned for your school.

Grant Funding Applications

Grant funding application windows are now open for the expansion or creation of wraparound childcare provision available from September 2024. Please refer to the attached ‘Wraparound Childcare Programme Grant Funding Application Form’ and ‘WSCC Wraparound Childcare Programme Funding Guidance for Schools and Childcare Providers’ attached in the documents section.

Funding application windows will be open each term until summer 2025. The dates provided below act as a guide only for application submissions to support expansion plans across the year:

*The DfE expect all new or expanded wraparound childcare places to be available to parents by September 2025 at the latest. Funding will not be awarded to provision made available after September 2025.

Schools and PVI providers are invited to apply for wraparound childcare programme grant funding but must ensure that their intended offer does not duplicate or replace existing provision available in their local area. PVI providers applying for funding must have their applications endorsed by the schools in which they do or intend to serve.

Submitting an application does not guarantee funding will be awarded. Grant funding applications will be evaluated by a panel against criteria which includes the extent to which applications fit with WSCC wraparound programme delivery expectations as set out in the WSCC guidance.

In the Autumn term our Early Years and Childcare Advisors (EYCAs) will begin making contact with schools and childcare providers to offer further support.

Should you wish to discuss your plans with an EYCA sooner and prior to completing your application, please contact wraparoundchildcare@westsussex.gov.uk.

Separate applications must be completed for provision that serves individual schools only. Provision that serves multiple schools i.e., cluster models or networks can complete one application but will need to ensure each school served endorses the application.

For any questions please contact: wraparoundchildcare@westsussex.gov.uk.

Alongside the WSCC guidance, which you will find in the documents section of this webpage, providers and schools are advised to read the following DfE documents thoroughly:

• National Wraparound Childcare Programme Handbook - a guide for local authorities (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Wraparound childcare: guidance for schools and trusts in England (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Childcare Expansion Capital Grant Funding

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 wraparoundchildcare@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.

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