Early Years funding rules have been in scope for change in recent times. How agile is your LA to the changes?

Early Years funding is essential in providing the best possible outcomes to children from the outset of their educational journey. Funding depends on several factors. The rules themselves, too, are undergoing change. From eligibility to age of the child and the number of hours funded, local authorities need a system in place that can be agile to these changes. Failure to respond to Early Years funding changes can have a negative impact on children and their families. It is essential to be adaptable in the face of changing rules. 

How does Early Years funding work? 

Early Years funding is based on eligibility criteria. In September 2024, a new 15 hour working parent entitlement was introduced. This saw the expansion of funding extend down to nine-month-olds. In September 2025, the entitlement will be increasing to 30 hours.  

This requires a re-working of the funding section of the software and systems utilised by local authorities in managing their Early Years funding. If the systems used can’t adapt to the changes, then it will necessitate a manual way of working out the rules and matching them to eligibility. This will further require manual effort in working out what is due to each provider. 

Having a system in place that can work out who is owed what is important for accurate billing and payments. This includes clawbacks from providers where children have moved nursery. Without a system to support the process, human error becomes an increasingly viable factor, as do elements such as falsified and inaccurate claims.  

With the rules in something of a state of flux at present, being agile to changes is vital. 

How can technology support Early Years funding? 

Technology can make the entire process of Early Years funding more accurate, easier for providers and easier for local authorities. Providers are required to submit headcounts to get funding from the local authority. Where local authorities can set providers up on a provider portal, it makes the process of submitting estimates, headcounts and amendments seamless for providers. It further makes the process easier for local authorities to track and manage. 

This also makes it easier for the local authority to see what each provider is owed, as estimate payments are worked out, based on their bespoke percentage rules. When the providers then submit actuals through the portal, the local authority can immediately see what the outstanding balance is for each provider and settle it. 

When rules change, your technology system should also be able to incorporate the new rules in a timely manner. This will result in a frictionless transition in your Early Years funding process. 

How Impulse Nexus helps local authorities with their Early Years funding 

We’ve designed Impulse Nexus to be responsive to rule changes, from funding periods to the age of children eligible. It is designed to make managing the end-to-end process easy. Impulse Nexus includes: 

• A providers’ portal through which they can submit estimates, actuals, headcounts and amendments 

• A live register of children at each provider 

• A banner to display which submission window is open, the status and how many days are remaining 

• A display of how many hours each child is claiming  

• Flags to indicate what each child is eligible for 

• The ability to bulk edit children’s hours 

• The provider can see a history of all submissions and how much was paid per child 

• The ability to reduce administrative time for your Early Years team 

• A full audit trail of submissions, payment rates and rejections 

• The ability to set your own funding periods, submission dates and rates 

• The ability to set up stretched funding models 

• Validation errors displayed in real time, with reasoning 

• Management area for local authorities to view and approve checks, validate the cross provider children, and children that haven’t yet been matched to a core record  

• The ability to customise funding types for legislation changes and regional requirements 

Ultimately, Impulse Nexus provides you with a clear and consistent process in line with your local authority’s bespoke rules. We understand that each local authority has different rules and processes in place, so being able to implement your process is important. It’s also crucial to have a system in place that can be adapted to changes in legislation.  

For more information, please visit our website.