Home Equality and Inclusion Early Years SEND Fund & Disability Access Funding

Early Years SEND Fund & Disability Access Funding (DAF)

SEND Legislative Requirements

It is the expectation of the local authority that all childcare providers support the inclusion of SEND children attending Nottingham City Early Years Settings by:      

  • Adhering to the Equality Act 2010
  • Adhering to the expectations of the EYFS, where appropriate
  • Adhering to the SEND Code of Practice 2015
  • Working positively to ensure that they are all offering fully inclusive services which meets the needs of all those in their care

Below you will find further details of the funding available to support SEND and Inclusion for Early Years Providers

What is SENIF?

All local authorities are required to make available Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding (SENIF) for all children who have Special Educational Needs and are accessing and funded early years entitlement place, regardless of the number of hours taken.

The SENIF is focused on working with providers to recognise and support the low-level and emerging needs of these eligible individual children.

 Eligibility Criteria                                            

To be eligible for the SENIF the following criteria applies:

  •  Child must be in receipt of an Early Education Entitlement place
  •  Child is attending a Nottingham City Setting or school (not in reception class)
  •  Providers must have completed 1 cycle of the Graduated Approach 
  •  Providers must have parental consent to apply for SENIF
  • Child may be experiencing some difficulties in one or more area of learning requiring some lower-level intervention

Who can apply for SENIF?

The SENIF is available to all Nottingham City Private, Voluntary, Community and Independent Ofsted Registered Childcare Providers who offer Early Education Places. SENIF is also available to school settings for children who are not in a reception class.

The following documentation will support providers in making an application to the SENIF panel;

Flow chart to support decision making

Guidance Jan 2026

Application form

Amendments Form

 

 

Higher Level Needs Fund (HLN)

HLN Funding is allocated to support children and young people with severe and complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) whose needs exceed the resources typically available within the setting and exceed the threshold of SENIF. HLN funding is available to all Nottingham City Private, Voluntary, Community and Independent Ofsted Registered Childcare Providers, along with schools and academies.

The criteria

·        Children in a PVI setting they must be known to EYFS SEND Team eysendreferrals@nottinghamcity.gov.uk 

·       Have high levels of need in one or more area of development

The fund does not support the costs of short breaks or respite care.

Further Information on HLN funding

The following documentation will support providers in making an application to the HLN panel;

Any amendments or changes in hours/setting for a child receiving HLN funding should be e-mailed to the Education HLN team and should you require any support or require further information please contact education.hln@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

This Fund provides additional funding to support early years providers in making reasonable adjustments to enable children with SEND to access their early years' entitlement places.

From 1st April 2025, the DAF rate will be £938.00 per year for eligible children from 9 months.  Funding will be paid per year as a lump sum directly to one childcare provider, nominated by the parent.

To be eligible for DAF, the child must;

  • Be in receipt of an Early Years Entitlement place.
  • Be in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • Not be attending a Reception class at School

 Additional criteria information for DAF applications:

  • Children do not need to take up all of their early years' entitlement hours to be able to access the DAF
  • If a child is accessing their early years entitlement at more than one provider, the parent must nominate which provider will receive the DAF payment – the payment cannot be split between providers
  • The childcare provider will decide how the DAF will be spent, in partnership with the parent
  • Funding cannot be used to pay for additional hours
  • Once funding for the year has been paid, it will not be reclaimed, even if the child leaves the setting
  • If a child receiving DAF moves from one setting to another within a financial year, the new setting is not eligible to receive any DAF for this child until the anniversary of the previous claim

If a parent doesn't already claim DLA for their children with SEND, please share this Contact a Family Leaflet on claiming DLA  

DAF Downloads and Application Forms:

                          

Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists are able to apply to the Local Authority for high cost equipment in order to support the inclusion of a disabled child into a local childcare setting.

To be eligible to apply, the child must be accessing an early years' entitlement place at the childcare setting.

The application form for high cost equipment can be found here