Wraparound care inclusion funding

Information, advice and guidance to support wraparound care providers supporting school-aged children with SEND

Applications for funding open 7 April 2026. Return here from 7 April to access the application form.

Wraparound care inclusion funding (WaCIF) is to support:

  • wraparound care providers with school-aged children who have an identified SEND need and
  • who are attending wraparound care in the April 2026 to March 2027 financial year

Eligibility

A child must meet the following criteria:

  • is currently attending or has a confirmed start date for accessing wraparound care
  • the out of school setting the child is attending is situated in the administrative area of Essex County Council (ECC) and is Ofsted registered or school registered
  • there is a current one plan or health care plan/EHCP that can be submitted with the application form - it is acceptable to use the school's one plan

Tier 1 funding

Tier 1 funding will be automatically allocated where the child, according to ECC records, has received one or more of the following:

  • special educational needs inclusion funding (SENIF)
  • special educational needs premium (SENP)
  • early years inclusion funding (IF)
  • individual pupil resource allocation (IPRA)
  • specialist teacher involvement
  • agreement to carry out a needs assessment (current, open EHCNA)
  • a finalised education, health and care plan (EHCP) band 5 or less

Tier 2 funding

Tier 2 funding will be automatically allocated where the child has:

  • a finalised EHCP band 6 or higher

Any child who has a full cycle of SEND support/one planning but who does not meet the above criteria for automatic allocation will be considered for funding by the Early Years Resource Panel, against the school banding descriptors.

Funding values

This funding will be available in the 2026/27 financial year only. It is intended to help providers to support children with an identified SEND need to adjust to wraparound care during this period.

Tier 1a

For children attending 5 hours or less of wraparound care who meet the criteria for Tier 1 funding:

£1,000 for the financial year, paid in instalments based on the child's continued attendance:

  • term 1 of funding - £600
  • term 2 of funding - £250
  • term 3 of funding - £150

Tier 1b

For children attending 6 or more hours of wraparound care who meet the above criteria for Tier 1 funding:

£2,000 for the financial year, paid in instalments based on the child's continued attendance:

  • term 1 of funding - £1,200
  • term 2 of funding - £500
  • term 3 of funding - £300

Tier 2

For children attending 6 or more hours of wraparound: care who meet the above criteria for Tier 2 funding:

£4,000 for the financial year, paid in instalments based on the child's continued attendance:

  • term 1 of funding - £2,400
  • term 2 of funding - £1,000
  • term 3 of funding - £600

Funding uses

Funding must only be used as a contribution to the following:

  • enhancing the adult to child ratio for some or all of the time the child is in attendance
  • improving accessibility or inclusion through non-capital expenditure specialised equipment (for example, movable hoists, temporary/removable ramps, standing frames)
  • to purchase specialised resources and equipment specific to the child's needs

Funding must not be used to:

  • purchase additional sessions for the child
  • buy in external professionals to work with the child
  • generally improve the wraparound environment or resources

Further help on funding

If you have any questions about whether an expenditure meets these guidelines, or, if you require capital funding for significant premises adaptations to enable a child to attend your out of school provision, email EY.ResourcePanel@essex.gov.uk.

If you are unsure if the child is eligible for automatic allocation of funding, use our eligibility checker form to request a check. We aim to respond to eligibility checks within 3 working days.

 

How to apply

You must:

  • explain to the child's parent(s)/carer(s) that the application will be read by a panel of ECC officers
  • provide them with the following information relating to ECC's legal basis under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR):
  • complete the 'online wraparound care inclusion funding online form' which will be available shortly, noting the following:
    • ensure you have an EHCP, Send support plan or one plan and health care plan (if applicable) and submit with the application
    • a health care plan must be submitted if the child has a medical need
    • applications must be received by the 1st of the month to be included in the panel meeting held later the same month

After submission

If the child meets the criteria for automatic funding, we will notify you immediately that funding has been awarded. Panel will agree the funding at the next available panel meeting and payment will be made.

If the child does not meet the criteria for automatic funding, the Early Years Resource Panel will read your application and supporting documents and discuss at the next panel meeting.

After the panel meeting

We will send you an email to tell you the outcome of your application and any value of funding. We aim to do this within 5 working days of the meeting.

If funding is not agreed, we will let you know the reasons why the application has not met the criteria for funding. If you don't agree with the decision you can send in more details and ask the panel to look at your application again at the next available meeting.

 

Continued funding for the April 2026 to March 2027 financial year

Wraparound care inclusion funding will only be available in the April 2026 to March 2027 financial year:

  • you must complete the application form and upload the one plan/EHCP every term in the 2026/27 financial year for funding to continue
  • you must complete the monitoring questions about how the funding was used as part of this process
  • the child must continue to attend to be eligible for funding
  • changes to attended hours or a finalised EHCP may necessitate funding at a different tier

If a child leaves your provision

If a child leaves your provision part way through the term, you must notify us and return any unspent funding.

Useful resources

Download the one plan template (Word, 85KB) noting the following:

  • the template gives clear information about the evidence required to demonstrate the needs of the child, as well as the provision provided
  • you do not have to transfer existing one plans or adopt the template, but you will need to ensure that submissions contain all the information detailed on the template and as highlighted in the SEND code of Practice 0-25 (2015)

School's alpha banding descriptors (Word, 56KB)

Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school - GOV.UK