SEND support
Childcare providers must follow the SEND Code of Practice to support children with special educational needs or disabilities.
SEN Inclusion Fund
Extra funding is available to help individual children with SEND access their free childcare.
To apply, email: eyif@northtyneside.gov.uk
Disability Access Fund
If a child gets Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and uses funded childcare, your setting can get extra money. You can apply for this through the Early Years Portal.
Registered early years providers can claim a one-off annual payment for children receiving their early years entitlement(s), who are also in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance.
What is the Disability Access Fund?
• It supports disabled children to access their free early years entitlement.
• It can be used by providers to make reasonable adjustments and / or to help build capacity to support children with disabilities.
• It is not based on an hourly rate and is an additional entitlement.
• Children do not have to take up the full hours of early to qualify for the Disability Access Fund payment.
• Children in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance will be eligible where they take up any period of their free entitlement.
• The money is paid to the childcare / early education provider.
Eligibility for Disability Access Fund funding
Children are eligible for the Disability Access Fund if they meet the following criteria:
• the child is in receipt of child Disability Living Allowance (DLA); and
• the child is taking Government funded early years entitlement hours within a North Tyneside early years provider.
Children who are reception pupils are not eligible for Disability Access Fund funding. Children become eligible for free early education entitlement the ‘funding period’ after qualifying birthday. Eligible children can only make one claim per year.
Identifying eligible children
Early years providers are responsible for identifying eligible children. Providers are encouraged to speak to parents in order to find out who is eligible for the Disability Access Fund. Providers need the written consent of parents / carers to share information with the Local Authority, for a DAF eligibility check to be carried out.
Claiming the Disability Access Fund
Where a child is identified as currently being in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, the childcare provider should ask for a copy of the DWP letter that confirms the individual’s eligibility for Disability Living Allowance. Ensure you have secured the parent’s consent to share the letter with the local authority.
Use North Tyneside’s Early Years Portal to apply for a Disability Access Fund payment.
The Early Years Commissioning Team will confirm eligibility for funding through the Early Years Portal.
We will fund all early years settings at the fixed annual rate which is set out in the local funding formula.
For more information, please contact eycommissioning@northtyneside.gov.uk
Additional information
- The Disability Access Fund will not be offset against any other funding which the local authority may ordinarily be providing for children eligible for the Disability Living Allowance.
- The Disability Access Fund is payable as an annual lump sum per eligible child. If a child eligible for the Disability Access Fund is splitting their free entitlement across two or more providers, the local authority will ask parents / carers to nominate the main setting. The setting selected by the parents / carers will receive the Disability Access Fund payment.
- If a child who has received a Disability Access Fund payment moves to a new setting within year of being funded, the funding will not transfer. Disability Access Fund funding received by the original setting will not be recouped by the local authority. The new setting cannot apply for DAF funding until after the year.
- Where a child lives in one authority area but attends an early years provider in a different local authority, the provider’s local authority is responsible for checking eligibility and funding the child. * Eligibility is based on ‘term’ dates defined by DfE.