For general services, training, communication and resources for schools please go to the Kirklees Business Solutions website.
SENDIF is part of the Kirklees approach to supporting inclusion of children with SEND to participate in Early Years education. It provides extra money to childcare providers so they can better support children aged 0 to 5 years old with SEND. The government says all local authorities must have a SEND Inclusion Fund.
The SEND Inclusion Fund (SENDIF) supports early years providers to meet the needs and support the inclusion of individual children with SEN and/or a disability. SENDIF is for emerging and lower level needs. Children with complex needs are funded through an Education, Health and Care Plan. As with other elements of early years funding, the statutory aspect of SENDIF should apply to children taking up their free early entitlement in any local authority. In Kirklees, SENDIF is also available for 2 year olds who meet the criteria for a free early entitlement of 15 hours per week over 38 weeks per year.
Kirklees Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Inclusion Fund Policy
Introduction - One of Kirklees Council’s goals is to ensure that children in our area have the best start in life (Best Start Shared Outcome).
Through the Kirklees Local Offer, we provide information, services, and activities for
young people aged 0 to 25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Purpose of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Inclusion Fund
(SENDIF) SENDIF is part of the Kirklees approach to supporting inclusion of children with SEND to participate in Early Years education.It provides extra money to childcare providers so they can better support children aged 0to 5 years old with SEND. The government says all local authorities must have a SEND Inclusion Fund
Purpose and timing of this policy - The purpose of this policy is to inform childcare providers, parents, and other interestedpeople about Kirklees Council’s approach to SENDIF.This policy applies to all SENDIF given to childcare providers from 1 January 2025. For SENDIF given to childcare providers between 1 September and 31 December 2024, this policy applies to new applications only. During this period, existing SENDIF+applications will be funded in line with the previous policy.
Eligibility - Childcare providers must have arrangements in place to support children with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These arrangements should include a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEND.
Kirklees Council expects childcare providers to work in partnership with parents and/or carers to implement any support a child needs. It is crucial that there is regular monitoring through the graduated approach - assess, plan, do, review.
Many children with SEND will not require extra resources to be successfully integratedinto settings. We expect childcare providers to make reasonable adjustments to their universal inclusive high-quality practice for children with emerging SEND needs oridentified SEND needs - including medical needs - by using their core funding. Only when there is a clear need for additional resources should childcare providers seek SENDIF. Subject to the above requirements, all registered childcare providers that receive funding for free childcare hours can apply for SENDIF for eligible children. Childcare providers in Kirklees can get funding from SENDIF from the term after a child reaches 9-months of age up to school age, as long as the child:
• is receiving free childcare hours from the government
AND
• has been identified at SEN Support
‘Free childcare hours’ means when childcare is paid for by the government in the
following ways:
• 15 hours free childcare for children aged from 9 months old to 2 years old for
eligible working parents/carers, extending to 30 free hours from September 2025.
• 15 hours free childcare for 2-year-olds if their parents/carers receive a low
income, receive certain benefits or their child meets certain criteria.
• 15 hours free childcare for all 3-to-4-year-olds and additional 15 hours for eligible
working parents/carers (up to 30 hours).
The above entitlements are for 38 weeks a year or the stretch equivalent. Children
become eligible for a free place the term after the prescribed age.
‘SEN support’ is when a child receives an enhancement to the provision or learning
offer within their setting. This provision is additional to or different from the universal inclusive high-quality practice available to all children of a similar age.
Applications - It is the responsibility of childcare providers to apply for SENDIF each term via the Provider Portal. Kirklees Council will monitor and audit the use of SENDIF to ensure it is being used appropriately. If SENDIF criteria are not being met, funding will be withdrawn and could be recouped from the childcare provider.
Amount of money overall per year - The value of SENDIF may change each financial year and is subject to the annual
Kirklees Early Years Funding Formula consultation. Kirklees Council will agree and
publish the budget for the year’s SENDIF once the annual consultation is complete.
The ‘financial year’ runs from the start of April to the end of the following March.
Amount of money per child - Each childcare provider is given an amount of money from SENDIF for each hour that they look after a child with SEND. Only the free childcare hours funded by the government count towards this total. The amount of money paid to childcare providers per child per hour may change each financial year.
After the ‘Kirklees Early Years Funding Formula’ consultation that takes place each year, Kirklees Council will agree and publish the amount paid to childcare providers per child per hour for the upcoming year.
Kirklees Council will monitor and review spending within each financial year and may adjust the hourly rate in-year where required, in consultation with childcare providers.
Changes to the rules - In March 2023, the government decided to expand the number of free childcare hours
available and offer them to more children. Since then, the government has said that a local authority’s SENDIF must be available to all children getting free childcare hours, including the extra hours. In Kirklees, this means we have decided to change the rules around our SENDIF as the government’s free childcare hours offer expands. The new rules are outlined in the policy above. In the past, we had something called ‘SENDIF+’, where Kirklees Council voluntarily decided to provide SENDIF for childcare hours not funded by the government. With the government’s expansion of free childcare hours, it no longer makes as much sense to do this.
SENDIF will also no longer contribute to the costs of ‘after school clubs’ for school-age children, a very small number of whom were in receipt of funding under old rules. All such funding will end from 1 January 2025.
As noted above in the ‘Amount of money per child’ section, SENDIF will now be
based solely on the number of free childcare hours each child uses, rather than the total number of hours they spend in childcare. To help make this change smoother for childcare providers, the new policy will apply in two stages as summarised in the ‘Purpose and timing of this policy’ section above.
Where providers require any additional support with children with SEND, they can contact Kirklees Council’s Specialist Early Years SEND Team via dewsbury.psychology@kirklees.gov.uk
KIRKLEES SENDIF GUIDANCE – UPDATED APRIL 2025
The guidance below is intended to support settings to understand the process for claiming and using the Special Educational Needs and /or Disabilities Inclusion Fund (SENDIF)
For a more detailed with pictures guide please see the SENDIF Provider Guidance April 2025 v2 PDF document (opens new window)
Key SEND responsibilities of Early Years Providers:
(Early Years: guide to the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice - Advice for early years providers that are funded by the local authority SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years
- GOV.UK).
Many children identified with SEND will make progress as a result of relevant and purposeful measures as above – further information is available in Inclusion Counts: Guidance to support the delivery of universal inclusive high-quality practice and graduated approach guidance for children at SEN Support in the early years. Inclusion Counts | Early Years | Kirklees SEND Local Offer (kirkleeslocaloffer.org.uk)(opens link in new window)
For some children at SEN Support, following a period of intervention, progress may be slower and there may be a requirement for additional funding over a period of time to enhance the provision in order to meet presenting needs. Such children may be eligible for SENDIF.
Children at SEN Support identified as eligible for SENDIF will meet one of the following criteria, all elements of the criteria MUST be being carried out or in the case of training, a plan must be in place.
It would be expected that a child who is completing their first term with you would undertake a cycle of assess plan do review before SENDIF is requested. Due to this the setting would only be eligible for half a terms funding. See section 2 f) for further details on how to apply.
Please note that the SENDIF monitoring team will be using this information as part of their monitoring process.
SENDIF codes
A (the majority of children eligible for SENDIF will fit this category)
Code: SENDIF A or SENDIF A HT
B (some children eligible for SENDIF will fit this category)
Code: SENDIF B or SENDIF B HT
C (exceptional – a very small number of children may fit this category)
Code: SENDIF C or SENDIF C HT
D (exceptional – a very small number of children may fit this category)
Code: SENDIF D or SENDIF D HT
Settings will need to distinguish between which SENDIF code the child falls within
SENDIF applications are made through the Provider Portal.
Please see instructions below. Also refer to Appendix A for more detailed guidance.
Important: the ‘Notes’ and SENDIF Funding will not be carried forward to the following term. Providers will need to add a note to the child each term on the portal when claiming for a continuation of SENDIF even if there are no other changes to make to the child’s claim. Don’t forget to select Save and Send Claim.
Where settings confirm that the child meets A, B, C or D above, SENDIF will be awarded in line with the calculated hourly rate and based on hours of free early years entitlement attendance. Claims for half term will be paid at 50%. This will be paid in the final/actual FEEC payment of the term for which SENDIF is being applied for.
SENDIF will be calculated as follows: Funded hours x funded weeks x £ SENDIF hourly rate x 100% for full term or 50% for half a term.
The hourly rate is subject to change each term and is dependent on financial forecasts that will ensure the annual budget allocation is not exceeded. The SENDIF hourly rate will be communicated by email via the FEEC and SENDIF teams.
The rate for children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be determined once the plan is finalised.
The SENDIF budget is fixed each financial year following consultation with the sector.
Financial modelling allows for projection forecasts to be reviewed each term based on the numbers of requests that have been submitted previously and potential demand in the future.
To ensure there is no overspend, it’s essential that these regular reviews take place.
Caution will always be applied to try and reduce the likelihood of any reduction in rates however this will be influenced by the number of requests received and the demand on the budget.
Final SENDIF payments in Spring term may be subject to enhancement if the budget allows. These mechanisms are in place to ensure that we achieve a balanced budget at financial year end.
Providers who offer Free Early Education and Care (FEEC) can apply to Kirklees Council for Disability Access Funding (DAF) to support children with a disability to access the free entitlement. A lump sum payment is available each financial year to providers who have eligible funded children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
The Equality Act 2010 prohibits local authorities and settings from unlawfully discriminating, harassing or victimising disabled children, and requires them to make adjustments for disabled children where it is reasonable to do so. Local authorities must comply with the provisions of the Act in finding suitable provision for eligible disabled children.
The DAF was introduced to support disabled children’s access to the entitlements for 3 and 4-year-olds. From 2024-25, DAF eligibility was extended to eligible 2-year- olds and under, accessing the entitlements.
The funds can be used, for example, to support providers in making reasonable adjustments to their settings and/or helping with building capacity, be that for the child in question or for the benefit of children attending the setting.
For further guidance please refer to the current FEEC Guide on www.kirklees.gov.uk/fundingdocuments
Early Years Pupil Premium ( EYPP)
The EYPP gives providers additional funding to support disadvantaged children accessing an entitlement place.
From 2024-25, EYPP was extended to all 2-year-olds and under accessing the entitlements and meeting the eligibility criteria detailed below.
For further guidance please refer to the current FEEC Guide on
Kirklees Council have a robust SENDIF monitoring process in place. It is based on the principle of ensuring a process is in place which promotes fairness, transparency, and equity over requests for SENDIF alongside monitoring the impact and difference it is making to individual children’s outcomes.
The information that is inputted into the portal is used during the monitoring process.
Monitoring is carried out retrospectively. i.e. Autumn term will be monitored throughout Spring Term.
Monitoring considers:
Please be aware that the criteria in section 1 and section 7 will form part of the auditing and monitoring process. In the absence of clear evidence that the criteria are being met, funding will be withdrawn with immediate effect and could be recouped.
For support with submitting a SENDIF claim using the Provider Portal please contact the Early Years Funding Team on 01484 225752 or email feecteam@kirklees.gov.uk
For all other questions or for help and support regarding which children meet the criteria for SENDIF or the SENDIF rate, please contact the SENDIF Team on 01924 483744 or email sendif@kirklees.gov.uk
Enter the claim as usual entering the correct number of ‘Funded and Non- Funded Hours per week.
en-GBLast updated: 20/10/2025