Southwark Education, Learning and Achievement logo Southwark Education, Learning and Achievement
Sign in

Sign in to Southwark Education, Learning and Achievement or Complete a task any time of day with your dedicated, personalised account Create account

Reception Transition Funding Proposal

In March 2025 we launched a consultation on the proposal to offer Receptopn Transition Funding from September 2025. The details of the consultaion and an overview of the feedback may be found here. 

Further details about the agreed process for this sumemr term will be released shortly. 

Context

The Early Years Inclusion Fund- EYIF provides funding to help early years providers to meet the needs of the children with emerging Special Educational Needs.  Since September 2024 over 230 applications have been made to the fund and £450,000 worth of funding has been allocated to providers through the portal alone to help meet need. Funding has also been extended to providers for eligible children under assessment for an EHCP.  
For the financial year 2025-2026 the budget for the Early Years Inclusion Fund has increased. The data and information collected via the EYIF Provider Portal has informed our planning and will enable us to extend and improve the range of support that is available to help early years professionals meet needs. 

Our improving offer 

  • The funding rates will be increased for Tier one, Tier two and Group applications in recognition of the costs associated with meeting a broad range of needs 
  • Following the launch in 2024, the Provider Portal is being updated to improve the user experience and ensure the process of making an application is as easy as possible, for example the requirement for parental consent will only apply to the end of the process and no longer to the beginning 
  • For September 2025 we aim to have an Early Years Area Senco in role to support Private, Voluntary and Independent providers in meeting a broad range of needs 
  • The Early Years Area Senco will have the authority to offer small funding allocations without the need for an application to help providers in meeting this broad range of needs quickly   
  • In September 2025 a pilot will be launched with selected providers aimed at supporting improved ways of working, staff capacity and encouraging creative practices in meeting a broad range of needs. These providers will be allocated upfront funding based on previous funding allocations. We aim to use our findings from this pilot to inform the shape of the offer in the future. Further details of this offer will be shared at a later date. 

The consultation is focused on another element of our improved offer, the proposal to offer Reception Transition Funding. 

Aims

  • To support the successful transition of children with SEND into Reception in a mainstream primary school 
  • To ensure pathways are agreed and in place prior to a child with SEND starting in Reception class in September 
  • To promote and improve partnerships across the sector between providers in support of transitions 
  • To ensure an efficient tracking of children and improve accountability for funds  

The Proposal 

The Early Years Foundation Stage is an important foundation for children as they transition from birth to the end of Reception and then beyond into statutory schooling. We recognise that for those children with a range of needs the pathway through Early Years must be supported to ensure it is inclusive and presents opportunity for high quality early intervention.

Transition into Reception class is a new and exciting experience for all children. For children with additional needs this can present additional challenges, for themselves, for their families and for their primary schools. 

This proposal outlines the offer that we aim to put in place to support this transition and ensure children get the best possible start to their primary years.
We aim to have a process in place for September 2025 with a view to the development and reshaping of the offer based on feedback and the data gathered. 

Funding

From the wider Early Years Inclusion Fund budget, we propose to allocate, approximately £165,000 to support transitions into Reception for those children that need extra support.

For children who are already in receipt of Tier Two Early Years Inclusion funding, the nursery provider will be able to make an application in the summer term, for Reception Transition Funding to support the child’s transition into primary school. In recognition of the time, resource and expertise taken to do this, the nursery provider will receive funds for every successful application, to cover the time taken to prepare for and support the transition.

In the first year we propose a payment of £650 for early years providers, per successful application. This is in recognition of the costs associated with administration time, partnership working, travel time to schools or staff time to attend meetings or collaborate with colleagues. 

For every successful application we propose that the school will receive a payment of £2600 to support the transition of the child into Reception. This is in recognition of the costs associated with resourcing, staff training, interventions and adaptations to the environment or curriculum.

The total amount allocated for each child per successful application would therefore be £3250.

As this process will be under review these proposed funding amounts may be subject to change in the future to ensure sustainability. 

Eligibility

Providers will be able to apply for funding for children that meet all of the following criteria

  • In receipt of Tier Two Early Years Inclusion Funding 
  • Not in receipt of an EHCP or under a needs assessment EHCNA
  • Due to attend a Southwark mainstream primary school

Application Process

We are proposing that the early years provider takes the lead in making the application for Reception Transition Funding to recognise the knowledge held by the provider about the child and to ensure that funding is secured and in place before the start of the reception year. We believe this will ensure smoother transitions into primary and support improved partnership working between providers and schools.

We are proposing that applications are made from the summer term onwards in line with published deadlines, via the EYIF Provider Portal. Funding will then be agreed at summer term panels.

The nursery provider will make the application in partnership with the school. The nursery provider will receive the funds for successful applications before the end of the summer term. The school will receive funds after the first school census and confirmation of the child’s attendance at the school.

Same aims, different process

The process outlined above is proposed for the majority of children with additional needs on a pathway through early years. In some circumstances we recognise that support may be needed in a different way. 

We are proposing that for some children who have been identified to the Local Authority via a Health Notification (Section 23 notification) and where the early years provider is working with a SENDIP to prepare for transition into Reception, Reception Transition Funding will be pre-agreed (if the child is not in receipt of an EHCP or under a needs assessment EHCNA). The criteria for this will be released at a later stage.

A separate process will also be put in place for children with additional needs who have arrived from out of borough or who were previously not in a provision which we are working on. The details for this will be released at a later stage.  

Consultation feedback overview

An overview of the feedback may be viewed here.