The parental declaration is the form you complete with a family before their child takes up a funded place. It confirms which funding the child has, how many funded hours they'll use with you, and their weekly pattern. Your local authority uses it to pay you, and the DfE guidance expects it to be in place before the first funded session.
What goes on it
The exact form comes from your local authority, but it usually covers:
- The child's details and their date of birth.
- Which entitlement they have, and the parent's eligibility code for working parent hours.
- How many funded hours they'll use with you each week, and on which days.
- Whether the hours are term time only or stretched.
- Any other provider the child also attends, so funded hours aren't claimed twice.
- The optional extras the family has chosen, where your authority asks for them.
When to complete it
Before the child first takes up their funded hours, and then when anything changes. Most authorities ask you to review it with the family each term.
How it fits with your contract
The declaration and your contract must agree. If the contract says 15 funded hours over Monday and Tuesday, the declaration should say the same, and so should every invoice. A child's hours changing means updating all three. My funded hours contract guide covers the contract side.
Questions people ask
Who fills in the parental declaration? You complete it with the parent, on your local authority's form, and both of you sign it.
What if a parent's eligibility code lapses? Working parent hours depend on the parent reconfirming their code every three months. If it lapses, the funding can stop, so remind parents and say in your contract what happens to the fees.