Free Early Education for 3 to 4 year olds
Important Update
The Synergy Provider portal will no-longer support Internet Explorer as one of its compatible browsers as of July 2022. If you wish to submit an Estimate, Headcount, Adjustment or Census return after this date, you must download an alternative browser.
Recommended Browsers;
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
- Google Chrome.
Funding Overview Guide
Synergy Provider Portal
Please use the link below to access the provider portal:
Spring Estimate:
Autumn Headcount:
- Synergy Headcount Guidance
(PDF, 1.3 MB) - Autumn 2023 Headcount Letter
(PDF, 627.5 KB) - Autumn 2023 Headcount Letter - Stretched
(PDF, 629.6 KB)
EY Census 2023
Kent provider agreement
The first few years of a child's life is crucially important to their development. Kent County Council are working with providers across the county to make early education for 3 to 4 year olds easily accessible. The Kent Provider Agreement provides a framework which outlines the mutual commitments on delivering the early education free entitlement.
- Kent provider agreement from 1 September 2021 (PDF, 480.9 KB)
- Declaration of agreement from 1 September 2021 (PDF, 135.3 KB)
Parental Declaration Form
- Parental declaration form 3 and 4 year olds (PDF, 370.7 KB)
- Word Version - Parental declaration form 3 and 4 year olds (DOCX, 149.8 KB)
- Parental declaration form guidance notes (PDF, 251.4 KB)
- Ethnicity list (PDF, 190.1 KB)
Determining eligibility for free early education
Due to locally determined school dates, the local authority starting dates for children claiming their free early education for the first time may vary from the nationally prescribed dates in the Department for Education code of practice (page 20).
In Kent, children become eligible to claim their free early education from:
| A child born between: | |
|---|---|
| 1 April to 31 August (inclusive) | The start of term 1 following their third birthday (after summer holidays) until statutory school age. |
| 1 September to 31 December (inclusive) | The start of term 3 following their third birthday (after Christmas and New Year holiday) until statutory school age. |
| 1 January to 31 March (inclusive) | The start of term 5 following their third birthday (after April holiday) until statutory school age. |
30 hours of free childcare eligibility checker
Submit a 30 hours free childcare check to validate a family’s 11 digit code and establish eligibility for the extended entitlement.
Management Information will complete a check and inform you of the result by email.
PVI calendar and sample calendars
The PVI calendar contains school term dates, headcount weeks, information about payment schedules and a birth calculator.
- PVI calendar 2022/23 (PDF, 190.8 KB)
- PVI Calendar 2023/24 (PDF, 181.5 KB)
- Stretched Child Tracker - 2023 - 2024
(XLSX, 64.3 KB)
Please use these sample calendars to assist when choosing term dates and claiming funding:
Year 2022/23
Year 2023/24
DOB Range
Term | 3 Year Olds | 4 Year Olds | Whole DOB Range |
|---|---|---|---|
Spring 23 | 01/01/19 to 31/12/19 | 01/01/18 to 31/12/18 | 01/01/18 to 31/12/19 |
Summer 23 | 01/04/19 to 31/03/20 | 01/04/18 to 31/03/19 | 01/04/18 to 31/03/20 |
Autumn 23 | 01/09/19 to 31/08/20 | 01/09/18 to 31/08/19 | 01/09/18 to 31/08/20 |
Spring 24 | 01/01/20 to 31/12/20 | 01/01/19 to 31/12/19 | 01/01/19 to 31/12/20 |
Stretched funding and funding calculator
A stretched funding calculator and child tracker has been developed to help with stretching if you choose to claim term time only through Synergy and stretch the funding yourselves:
A child's funding year is based on when they first become eligible for funding as per table below.
| A Child Born Between: | Child First Becomes Eligible for Funding | Funding Year - Terms Included |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April to 31 August (Inclusive) | September (Autumn Term) | Autumn, Spring and Summer |
| 1 September to 31 December (Inclusive) | January (Spring Term) | Spring, Summer and Autumn |
| 1 January to 31 March (Inclusive) | April (Summer Term) | Summer, Autumn and Spring |
Deadline dates for Missed Headcount Submissions 2022/23
Please be aware that we are changing the appeal process for completely missed headcount claims, due to feedback that has been received across all aspects of the service.
Management Information have now set out deadlines for providers to notify Management Information that they have missed their headcount submission and now require a late submission.
A letter detailing these changes has been sent to all providers.
Below, you will find the deadline dates for missed headcount submissions.
- Autumn 2023 - Friday 20 October 2023
- Spring 2024 - Friday 9 February 2024
- Summer 2024 - Friday 31 May 2024
Any appeal claims received after the deadline dates stated above will not be processed nor paid, as per section 15.2 of the Kent Provider Agreement.
Deadline dates for adjustments and late joiners 2022/23
Late joiners will now be claimed for as adjustments through the new Synergy FIS provider portal. Please refer to the guidance below for how to claim an adjustment.
To ensure all termly payments (Estimate, Headcount, Overallocations, EYPP, DAF and Adjustments) can be processed and paid in time for each term please see below deadline dates for adjustment claims:
- Summer 2023 - Thursday 7 September 2023
- Autumn 2023 - Thursday 11 January 2024
- Spring 2024 - Thursday 18 April 2024
Any adjustment claims for the previous term received after the deadline dates stated above will not be processed nor paid.
Fees for funding errors
Changes to Bank details
If your bank details which receive the free early education funding change please complete the bank account details form (PDF, 179.2 KB) and send:
- email: miearlyyears@kent.gov.uk
- by post to: Management Information, Kent County Council, 2nd Floor Invicta House, County Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XX.
Data protection
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and represents the biggest change to data protection law for 20 years.
To comply with Article 13 of the GDPR settings must strengthen their privacy notices and must include some additional information. The revised Early Years Settings privacy notice template is GDPR compliant, but there are some sections (in red) where settings are required to provide additional information.
You should ensure all parents and carers of children eligible for free entitlement receive a Privacy Notice.
2 year old funding (FF2)
Visit the Free For 2 page for full details or email any queries to miearlyyears@kent.gov.uk.
Early Years Pupil Premium and Disability Access Fund
Visit the Claiming EYPP and DAF page for full details or email any queries to miearlyyears@kent.gov.uk.
Contact us
If you would like to join the PVI register to be able to offer the free early education funding to 3 and 4 year olds please contact Management Information on 03000 42 16 12 or for any other queries please email the team miearlyyears@kent.gov.uk.
Some of the files on this page may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. See our accessibility statement for information on how to request an alternative format.