Are the child’s difficulties such that they meet the criteria for inclusion funding?
Yes No level ___ / Is there sufficient evidence over time of the setting making meaningful provisions to address the difficulties? Or – if the child has severe and complex needs is there evidence that the setting has liaised with other professionals and made reasonable adjustments?
Yes No / Is it clear and appropriate what additional provisions are to be funded through the application?
Yes No
Summarizing the child’s difficulties
  • Use your observations, summaries and tracking information to sum up the main areas of difficulty for the child, e.g. Unique Child, Talking Matters profile, ECAT profile, Early Support Developmental Journal.
  • Evidence the area of difficulty with clear reference to criteria. (If you have reports from other professionals e.g. Speech therapist, use these to back up your observations)
  • The panel need to know the child’s difficulties are severe and exceptional.
  • The description should be specific about how the child presents and the impact on their development. Describe what it is they can and can’t do. If describing behaviour the frequency should be evidenced. Statements like “He is the worst we have ever seen” or “She is always badly behaved” are not relevant or appropriate and are not helpful to your case.
/ Evidence of what has been done (The provision plan).
  • Be specific about the provision that has already been put in place. What was the scale, how long was it in place for, cost and difference it made?
  • What outside advice has been sought?
  • How are you acting on any advice/guidance and what was the impact?
  • What were the costs of the provision?
/ The detail of what you want to do with the funding(proposed provision plan).
  • Be specific about the proposed provision - it must be ‘additional to, or different from’ what is provided for other children.
  • It must be clear what contribution the setting is making towards the support. Provide detailsand cost as far as you are able. E.g. 2 sessions a week of additional adult support = £X
Targets to be reached in a 6 month period (use the Early Support Developmental Journal or Venturing into Play profile for ASD to help you):
  1. …………………..
  2. …………………..
  3. …………………….
  4. …………………….
These targets will be reviewed during EYIA visits

Early Years Inclusion Funding Guidance