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Early Years Funded Entitlement
In West Sussex, funded childcare provided by the government is referred to as the Early Years Funded Entitlements (EYFE). When and how your child can access EYFE will depend on whether the child and/or your family meet eligibility criteria.
Children aged 2 years
2 year olds can access EYFE for Working Families for up to 15 hours per week (increasing to 30 hours from September 2025). Visit our EYFE for Working Families page to find out more. If your child was eligible for EYFE for Working Families between 9 months and 2 years, your child can continue to access EYFE for Working Families after turning 2 years old if your eligibility code is renewed.
2 year old Local Authority Issued EYFE is available for children and families who meet different criteria. They could access up to 15 hours EYFE per week from the term after they turn 2 if they are eligible. Visit our 2 year old Local Authority Issued Early Years Funded Entitlement page to find out more.
You cannot currently access both EYFE for working families and 2 year old LA Issued EYFE at the same time.
| A child born on or between | Will be of eligible age at the start of the term beginning in |
| 1 April to 31 August | September after their second birthday |
| 1 September to 31 December | January after their second birthday |
| 1 January to 31 March | April after their second birthday |
Children aged 3 years to statutory school age
All children, regardless of individual needs and citizenship, can access up to 15 hours of Universal EYFE per week from the term after they turn 3 years old. No application is needed.
If the child is eligible for EYFE for Working Families, they can also access 3 and 4 year old Extended EYFE. This provides up to 15 additional EYFE hours on top of the Universal EYFE, totalling up to 30 funded hours per week.
| A child born on or between | Will be of eligible age at the start of the term beginning in |
| 1 April to 31 August | September after their third birthday |
| 1 September to 31 December | January after their third birthday |
| 1 January to 31 March | April after their third birthday |
Please note that many forms of financial assistance require you to use Ofsted registered childcare settings.
There is a useful childcare calculator on the GOV.UK site to help you estimate how much help you might be entitled to. Other information is also available on the Best Start In Life website.
All EYFE may be used across county borders, and across multiple EYFE registered providers. This must be declared on the Declaration Form and held by each provider being used. All hours over and above this will be invoiced at the agreed rate per hour.
Rudgwick Pre-school closes for 5 INSET days per year in line with Rudgwick Primary School. At Rudgwick Pre-School we benefit from some additional activities (please see website for further details). If your child attends on an activity day, then an additional charge will show on your invoice to cover part of this cost.
Payments are half termly due at the start of each term.