Over how many weeks of the year can funding be offered?

• across 38 weeks of the year - often aligned to school term times, but it does not have to be,
•  'stretch' offer which is over more weeks (than 38) of the year but for less funded hours per week as they are 'stretched' out,
• a mixture of both 38 weeks and stretch - providers can be flexible depending on the requirements of their families i.e. one child may have funding over 38 weeks, whereas another child could have funding as stretched.

Please note: a single child cannot be claimed as both 38 weeks and stretch, at the same setting/ site.

Additional guidance on flexibility: 

• Parents can only change from 38 week / term time offer to stretched (or vice versa) at the beginning of a new term.
• Providers must supply funded hours in the same manner as they claim it. For example: if funding is claimed for a child as 38 weeks, this is how the funded hours must be given to the family. Similarly, providers who claim funding a stretched must give funding to families as stretched.

Important: Providers should keep track of funding used up by a child when changing from stretch to term time funding or when a child has moved from another setting.

There could occasions when a child could use up their entitlement before the end of the third term in a 12 month period. This can occur when a child has changed from stretched to 38 week offer or vice versa. Parents have still had access to their entitlements but depending how a child access funding could be in some terms more funded hours are used up than the counterpart offer i.e. summer stretched could use up more funded hours than the 38 week offer, but in autumn term the 38 week offer could use up more funded hours than if supplied as stretched. 

For details and considerations around this please see the section for Understanding Funded Places on funding explained page