£1.4 million boost for early years education across North Yorkshire

This includes up to £1.4 million in an early years support fund

The County Council’s funding package is over and above the financial support provided by the Government and is on offer for those private, voluntary and independent sector providers who have remained open despite extreme challenges and the financial disincentives inherent in the system to do so.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s executive member for education and skills said: “We took the decision to draw from our own funds for this crucial support which will be focused on providing financial assistance to those early years’ providers that have remained open during this extremely challenging period and are committed to remain open in future months.

“We believe very strongly that early years’ providers are an essential part of the current childcare support network across the county and we recognise that many have gone above and beyond their normal offer in order to support families with critical workers as well as vulnerable families and we are extremely grateful for this.”

The financial support package will include an up-front rather than monthly payments for the summer term for registered funded providers; payment for providers that remained open during the Easter holidays, and a support fund of up to £1.4 million for providers to continue being open and also to support the sector to recover on the removal of the current restrictions.

The fund is cash limited and funding allocations will need to be capped within the constraints of monies available. The funding is provided to support the ongoing operation of a provider and will have regard to a provider’s operating context and will also consider their opening hours and numbers of children currently attending their provision.

“We will not be able to resolve all of the financial concerns of early years providers. However, we are determined to help where we can” said Howard Emmett, assistant director for strategic resources.

The closing date for applications for the North Yorkshire County Council Covid-19 Early Years Provider Financial Support Fund is 9am on Wednesday April 29.