The online provider portal has a built in eligibility checker to check eligibility codes for:
- 9 month old Early Years Funded Entitlement (EYFE) for working families
- 2 year old EYFE for working families
- extended EYFE for 3 and 4 year olds.
This allows you to instantly check the validity of an eligibility code and shows if you will be able to claim the funding up at your next actuals submission.
The checker is a standalone feature of the portal. It is not linked to your actuals submissions in any way. You can use it as many times as you wish. It is linked electronically to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and provides an instant outcome of eligibility. The data you enter is not saved.
You can use the checker at any time, but here are some suggestions for when it can help your administration, reducing the time you spend on queries at headcount:
- When a new customer approaches you and before offering a place to them - don’t wait until actuals are open to check the code as you may not have time to raise issues with the parent.
- Towards the end of a term - check codes for existing children who were in their grace period at your last actuals submission, to ensure that the parent has since reconfirmed eligibility. These children will not be eligible next term if the parent has not successfully reconfirmed with HMRC. If you’re building this into your termly administration routine, do it well in advance of HMRC reconfirmation deadline dates to give you time to remind the parent.
Help guides
Video
The following video demonstrates how to check eligibility codes for extended EYFE. You can use the exact same method to check all EYFE for Working Families eligibility codes, including for 9 month olds and 2 year olds.