Disability Access Fund (DAF)

Disability Access Fund (DAF) is available to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their childcare setting.

From April 2024 childcare providers can receive £910 per year for every child who meets the eligibility criteria.

If a child receiving DAF moves from one setting to another, the new setting is not eligible to receive DAF funding for this child until the anniversary of the first payment has passed. DAF funding received by the original setting will not be recouped.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible children must be:

The child does not need to be using all their funded early education and childcare hours for their childcare provider to be able to receive the full amount of DAF funding.

Please note, four-year-olds in primary school reception classes are not eligible for DAF funding.

From April 2024:

A child will be eligible for the DAF if:

and the child receives one of the following:

  • the universal 15 hours entitlement for 3 and 4-year-olds

or

  • the 15 hours entitlement for disadvantaged 2-year-olds

or

  • from April 2024, the 15 hours entitlement for children aged 2 years of working parents

From September 2024:

  • from September 2024, the 15 hours entitlement for children aged 9 months to 2 years of working parents

What can the funding be used for?

The funding is available to help childcare providers make reasonable adjustments at their setting to improve children's access to funded early education. It will be paid directly to the childcare provider, and they will be able to decide how it should be spent.

The funding cannot be used towards childcare fees.

How to apply?

To apply for the funding, the setting need to complete all of the Funded Early Education Declaration Form 2023 to 2024 and return it to fundedearlyeducation@surreycc.gov.uk along with a copy of the child's Disability Living Allowance (DLA) eligibility letter.

If the child attends more than one childcare setting, the parent will need to choose which one they want to receive the funding.

Surrey County Council can issue DAF payments to EY providers as soon as the child takes up their funded entitlement. For example, if a child turns three in the summer term, they will be able to take up their entitlement in the autumn term and Surrey County Council can issue the first DAF payment as quickly as possible in that term.

Where children are still eligible for the DAF, providers can receive a second payment one year later; that is, one year after they first received the DAF. A new application should be submitted.

This means that instead of getting a payment at the beginning of the new financial/ academic year, the EY provider can apply for an additional payment each year after the first one was paid.

What if the child moves to another childcare provider part way through the year?

The funding is not transferable. If the child moves to another childcare provider, it will stay with the original setting until 12 months following receipt of the first DAF payment.