Disability Access Fund (DAF)

The Disability Access Fund is a one off payment of £615 per child per year. It is make to the provider nominated by the parent. The fund is used to support inclusion of eligible 3 and 4 year olds through reasonable adjustments.

The payment is made regardless of how many hours a child attends and is not prorated. In Buckinghamshire payments are made in the term a child first becomes eligible and takes up an early education funded place and is then paid again on the first anniversary (if the child is still in the setting).

Who’s eligible?

3- and 4-year olds will be eligible for DAF if:

• the child is in receipt of child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and;

• the child attends an early years provider for the funded entitlement,

• funded two year olds are not eligible.

Read more about Disability Access Fund (DAF)

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

The Early Years Pupil Premium is extra funding for Early Years providers to help them improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 3 and 4 year-olds. If you're a provider wishing to find out who is eligible for EYPP, start by talking to the parents or carers, especially those of children who took up the 15-hours free entitlement for 2 year-olds, as some of these children may be eligible for EYPP when they turn 3.

Who’s eligible?

• Families whose annual net earned income is £7,400 or less

Or the child has:

• Been in local-authority care for 1 day or more

• Been adopted from care

• Left care under a special guardianship order or residence order

The above relate to England or Wales only.

Read more about Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Inclusion Fund

The Early Years Inclusion Fund is a budget is to support young children with low level and emerging special educational needs. The Early Years Inclusion Fund forms part of the wider High Needs Funding budget which supports children and young people with more complex needs. The funding may be allocated to the setting; to support a child to attend.

Who’s eligible?

• 3 and 4 year olds attending a Buckinghamshire early years setting which is approved to deliver funded early education for up to 30 hours;
• 2 year olds who live in Buckinghamshire, attend an approved Buckinghamshire setting and are eligible to receive up to 15 hours of funded early education.

More information:

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Inclusion Fund

In April 2013 the Government changed the way in which all mainstream education settings (for example, schools, academies and colleges) are funded in respect of supporting pupils with ‘high incidence/low cost’ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Under these arrangements all mainstream educational institutions are expected to contribute up to £6,000* to fund additional support for each pupil with high incidence/low cost SEND from their delegated, notional SEN budget.

Additional support means that which is over and above the standard teaching and learning available within the school/setting. Additional help could include adult support, specialist equipment, a programme suited to the individual or for accessing advice from external professionals. This additional support is to facilitate the child/young person’s access to the curriculum.

This funding is determined by the profile of the school or college and is allocated on a formula basis. The Local Authority provides this funding to schools for children up to age 16, whereas, for post-16 students the funding will be allocated by the Education Funding Agency or for post-19 students by the Skills Funding Agency. 

This funding is to be used to support pupils/students with or without Educational Health Care (EHC) Plan who require additional help within the learning environment.

*Nationally prescribed figure for all mainstream schools and colleges, correct as at April 2014. (This sum may vary in future years according to Department for Education (Department for Education) recommendations and Local Authority funding arrangements.)

As of September 2015, all requests for High Needs Block Funding (HNBF) should be submitted on the new HNBF Request Form. From October 2015 applications on any other format will not be considered.

All applications must include a recent SEN Support Plan and supporting professional reports. Parent carer should be consulted on the application.

Settings may request High Needs Block Funding (HNBF) for specific short term targeted interventions to support an individual’s SEN where support is required above the notional £6,000 delegated funding.  HNBF should not be viewed as a long term solution as if the SEN needs continue to require additional support consideration should be made for an assessment for an EHCP. HNBF will not be agreed in the first instance for any longer than two academic terms. Should an extension be required, evidence of impact to date must be submitted.

Requests for an extension to HNBF must be accompanied by a school/setting/college statement of how funding given to date has been used and the impact it has had for the outcomes of the individual. Also what an extension to HNBF will be used for. The setting should demonstrate that they have taken purposeful, relevant and sustained action to meet the individuals SEN before making a request for additional funding. The setting must clearly detail what the request is for, the cost of this and how the interventions will be measured.

Checklist for application

Consideration for additional funding will not be made without:

• SEN Support Plan or equivalent document.
• Evidence of individual’s primary area of SEN.
• Relevant professional advice (this must not be more than 1-year-old if related to progress).
• School statement of how the HNBF will impact on the individual’s learning.

Please return your completed form and documents to: Integrated SEND Service, Walton Street Offices, Aylesbury HP20 1UZ

Read more about The Integrated SEND Service.

The Local Authority funds the support in an Educational Health Care (EHC) Plan which is additional to the notional funding described in funding already available in all mainstream schools and colleges. This funding comes from the Local Authority’s High Needs Block and is paid centrally to the education setting at the start of the financial year for the specific purpose of supporting the child/young person named.

If the child/young person moves to a different education setting any allocated funding moves with them. The Local Authority will, retrospectively, remove/claw back from the original school/college and allocate to the new education setting - these adjustments are made on a termly basis.

Funding is available in special schools and Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARP) in mainstream schools.

Only children/young people who have EHC Plans (or Statements) can attend special schools or be placed in an ARP.

Funding comprises of two main components, a sum 'per place' and a 'per pupil' top-up from the Local Authority’s High Need Block.

The 'per place' funding (£10,000** per year) is paid by the Local Authority at the beginning of the financial year.

Some children/young people will have very complex needs which require additional support over and above that available from within the 'per place' funding. These children/young people will have their additional funding needs identified through a moderation process, using the Buckinghamshire Education Resource Allocation System. If the child/young person moves to a different education setting any allocated top-up funding moves with them. The Local Authority will, retrospectively, remove/claw back from the original school/college and allocate to the new education setting - these adjustments are made on a termly basis.

**Nationally prescribed figure for all special schools and ARPs, correct as at April 2014. (This sum may vary in future years according to Department for Education (DfE) recommendations and Local Authority funding arrangements).