Register for funding with Essex County Council

How to register

The Funded Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) is a government programme.

It offers early years children 15 or 30 hours of funded early education per week depending on their date of birth and family eligibility. This is a total of 570 or 1140 hours per year over 38 weeks term time.

Parents are permitted to use fewer hours per week over a longer period, for example up to 52 weeks, this is known as a stretched offer.

This funding comes from central government to Essex County Council (ECC). The Council sets the funding rates and makes payments to settings. No direct payments are made to parents.

For further information about the entitlement offers, visit funding entitlement offers.

Offering the FEEE

Your setting may offer this funding if:

it is a nursery or pre-school
it is a school or academy
you are a childminder, or you are with a child-minding agency

Childminders cannot use the funding to look after children in their own family; for example if you are the parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt or uncle.

Your setting must:

be registered with Ofsted
have an Ofsted judgement of outstanding, good, or requires improvement
have a separate dedicated bank account
have a funding contract with ECC
have internet access and an email account

New providers

If your setting has only just registered with Ofsted, FEEE can be offered before the first inspection. If the outcome of the inspection is inadequate, it may not be able to continue to offer the FEEE.

Apply for a contract

If all the requirements above are met, you can apply for a contract. Ensure you have reviewed the FEEE provider handbook in full which contains funding rates, additional charges and how the funding should be offered to parents:

complete an early years provider registration form
complete an early years provider contract checklist
we will check the details given in your registration form and checklist; if clarification is required, we will contact you
once approved, you will be sent a contract
sign and return the contract before funding can start