Nursery Education Funding (NEF)

Worcestershire directory of funded providers

All early years providers who wish to offer funded places for eligible children aged 9 months to five years of age within Worcestershire, must be registered with the Council to be included on the Worcestershire Directory of Funded Providers. 

By registering, early years providers agree to abide by the national guidance document: 

• Early Education and Childcare; Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities 

And the local guidance document:

• The Worcestershire Provider Agreement (PDF)

Provider requirements

All providers wishing to offer Nursery Education Funding must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage in line with all principles and requirements, as set out in the below framework, or have an official exemption:

• Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

Providers must be registered with one of the following organisations:

• Ofsted - on the Early Years Register or as a school
• Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)
• a registered childminder agency

Providers who are judged by Ofsted as:

• ‘Inadequate’ or 'Not Met' are unable to register to offer funded places within Worcestershire
• ‘Requires Improvement’ are unable to register to offer funding for two year olds from Families in Receipt of Additional Support (FRAS) within Worcestershire

Register to offer NEF

Providers who wish to register to offer NEF within Worcestershire must email to request a NEF registration pack:

•  eycsystems@worcestershire.gov.uk

All forms must be completed and returned before a provider can be included on the Worcestershire Directory of Funded Providers. 

Providers can contact the NEF Team to discuss any aspect of the registration documentation.

NEF Audits are carried out to ensure that all settings who are funded to deliver NEF within Worcestershire are adhering to the Worcestershire Provider Agreement and are therefore allowing families to access their free entitlement.

The following criteria will be used to prioritise when an NEF audit is carried out:

• settings where the NEF team, schools finance team or early years team have concerns from visits, phone calls or repeated problems with funding claims and/or payments
• settings that have been highlighted by phone calls from parents and carers
• on closure of business, financial records with the Council will not be finalised and closed until the audit has been completed
• new settings within the first 3 terms of business
• at random, based on the capacity of the NEF Team.

NEF Audits are carried out to confirm:

• accuracy of funding claims
• accuracy of funding payments, including Early Years Inclusion Supplement Funding
• inclusion funding is spent appropriately to positively impact on the child's outcomes
• adherence to the Worcestershire Provider Agreement
• parents are able to access their child’s free entitlement without having to pay any additional fees

Providers who have been selected for an NEF Audit will need to present the following information:

• copies of registers (daily attendance sheets) for the audited term
• copies of all Parent Declaration Forms for the audited term
• copies of all parental invoices, bills or statements for a period within the audited term
• evidence supporting the level of need for any funded child receiving an inclusion supplement
• details of the way in which providers offer the free entitlement, which should include:
  • a copy of the fee structure, including a published copy of the charges for additional services
  • a copy of a registration form or contract
  • any funding related information used by the provider for parents and carers
  • a copy of the settings Admissions Policy

There are a range of funding offers in place, dependent upon the child’s age and the eligibility criteria they meet:

All funding offers can commence from the term after the child meets both the eligibility criteria and the relevant age:

Eligibility criteria and application processes can be found at:

• Funded childcare and ways of paying

We comply with Department for Education statutory guidance (Early education and childcare - Statutory guidance for local authorities - April 2024) and as such meets both the requirements and the recommendations of this guidance in order to ensure that as far as possible ‘all children are able to take up their free hours in a high-quality setting’. (DfE 2024)

We therefore fund places where the provider meets the quality requirements and is willing to accept the local authority funding requirements.

We will withdraw a provider from the Directory of Funded Providers if they are not willing to accept the local authority funding requirements, or they do not meet the quality requirements and there are sufficient places elsewhere, which meet the needs of the children and families.

Download a copy of the:

• Termination and Withdrawal of NEF Policy 2024 (PDF)