Local Authority funding agreement
In Norfolk, all providers are required to sign a funding agreement to offer Early Education funding to families. The agreement is based on the model agreement issued by the Department for Education (DfE), together with local requirements. It details the terms and conditions that both the Council and the Provider must adhere to and signposts the reader to further information.
Once the following steps have been completed, the provider will be listed as an Approved Provider. The provider will be issued with a signed agreement to display.
Step 1 - Terms and Conditions
Read Part E, the Funding Agreement Terms and Conditions (PDF, 347 KB)
Step 2 - Agreement information
If you agree to the terms and conditions, complete Part A-D which is a Microsoft form https://forms.office.com/e/fRzcz1XPNn
The form is a series of questions about the provider and the early education entitlements which will be offered to families.
- Part A: Your Provider Details
- Part B: Your Early Education Offer to Families
- Availability
- The Funding Entitlements
- Charges
- Part C: Documentation
- Part D: Declaration
(To help determine the number of weeks open for a stretched offer, please use the Funding Weeks Calculator (Excel doc, 30 KB))
Step 3 - Additional documents
Submit the following policies via email to earlyyearsfinance@norfolk.gov.uk
- Charging Policy
- Admissions Policy
- Complaints Procedure
- Sample Invoice issued to a parent/carer
The additional documents are required so that the Local Authority can be assured that the provider has systems in place to meet the statutory guidance and the Funding Agreement Terms and Conditions (PDF, 347 KB) when offering the Early Education entitlement to families.
A provider may choose to combine policies for Early Education to reduce the admin burden.
These documents should enable families to make an informed decision about their childcare arrangement and ability to pay additional fees before committing to a childcare contract. The policies must also clearly articulate compliance to the terms and conditions of the agreement.
It is therefore important that as a minimum these documents detail the following information -
| Charging Policy | Admissions Policy | Complaints Policy | Sample Invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Guidance is available to help draft these documents -
- Charging Policy (Word doc, 81 KB)
- Admission Policy (Word doc, 60 KB)
- Complaints Procedure (Word doc, 65 KB)
- Sample Invoice (Word doc, 209 KB)
the following documents also share suggested wording which can be copied/adapted when drafting your policies
Step 4 - Compliance checks
Once the policies are submitted to the Early Years Finance team, they will complete a compliance check to ensure the documents collectively detail how the above (tabled items) are managed. Providers will be notified where the check has failed and given the opportunity to make amendments. New providers should allow at least 6 weeks for the documentation to be checked.
Providers will also be notified when the documents have met the compliance check.
Step 5 - Approved Provider status
Once Steps 1 - 4 are complete, a provider will be listed as approved and their agreement returned signed. This document should be displayed as information for your parents/carers.
Step 6 - Keep your Agreement details current
The returned agreement is an extract from your submitted form. If there are any errors, or you wish to amend your funding offer at a later date, and/or change to the named responsible person, it will be necessary to submit a new version https://forms.office.com/e/fRzcz1XPNn.
It is important that the Local Authority holds the current versions of the policies on file (Step 4) as these are a source of reference should we receive a complaint. If any policy / invoice template is amended, a full set must be re-submitted for compliance checks.
Unless exempt, please also remember to update your website pages or Norfolk Community Directory entry in relation to your charges and policies.
From September 2026, the agreement will be automatically renewed for all providers listed as Approved.
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