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Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)
I
Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained
within the City Council Constitution do hereby approve:
The implementation of the Early years
funding formula allocation for Early years providers in Salford as
set out below for
1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027

·        
Base rate for 9 months to 2-year-olds to
£11.25 per hour (increase of £0.76p)

·        
Base rate for 2-year-old funding to
£8.20 per hour (increase of £0.50p)

·        
Disadvantaged supplement for two-year-olds to
£0.60p per hour (increase of £0.07p)

·        
Base rate for 3-and-4 year old funding to
£5.54 per hour (increase of £0.54p)

·        
Deprivation supplement for 3-and 4-year-olds an
increase of £0.02p per hour for banding 2-6 as detailed in
the following table: 
 

BAND

 

Deprivation Supplement by Band (based on
IDACI)

1

0% - 25%                    

£0.00

2

25% - 30%

£0.14

3

30% - 40%

£0.16

4

40% - 50%

£0.20

5

50% - 60%

£0.23

6

60% -
100%

£0.26

 

·        
Quality graduate leaders supplement for 3 and
4-year-olds to £0.35p per hour (increase of
£0.10p)

·        
Quality QTS supplement for 3 and 4 year olds to
£0.45p per hour (increase of £0.05p)
The Reasons are:
To
enable Salford City Council to fulfil its statutory duty to
administer Early Years Funding to settings across the
City. 
Options considered and rejected were:
N/A - The DfE mandates that 97% of funding
must go directly to Early Years Providers. This report outlines
proposed increases to hourly base rates for early years providers
of all age groups.
Assessment of Risk: Low
The source of funding is:
Dedicated Schools Grant –
Early Years (DSG-EY)
Legal Advice obtained: Tony Hatton
For
2026-27 Early Years Funding, the Department for Education
confirms national rates in Autumn 2025, with Local Authorities
setting local rates by a new February 28th deadline for providers,
building on recent expansions like 30 hours for under-2s from Sept
2025, with confirmation of the Council’s allocation being
given on 15th December
Financial Advice obtained: Beth
Mitchelle
Under-2-year-old
funding
The pass out of £11.25
for under-2-year old funding (an increase of £0.76) is not
expected to cause any issues, this is £0.15 more than the
funding rate from the DSG.  This
additional £0.15 for the base rate is able to be applied due
to the prudent base rate for 2025/26, with it being the first year
of the scheme.  The costs of
administration etc will be covered by the retained balance of
allocation while still reaching the required 97% pass out
rate.  The Under-2-year-old funding will
be closely monitored throughout the year along with the Early Years
DSG budget as a whole.
 
2-year-old funding
The increase of £0.50 to
the base rate and increase of the £0.07 to the supplement
allows a 97% pass out rate whilst the costs of administration etc
will be covered by the current balance per hour.  The 2-year-old funding will be closely monitored
throughout the year along with the budget.
 
3 and 4-year-old
funding
A £0.54 increase to the
base rate, (an increase of £0.02 over the allocated DSG
funding – possible through the prudent funding of 2025/26),
an increase of £0.02 to each supplement, alongside the
£0.10 increase to graduate leader and £0.05 to QTS
allows for a 97% pass out rate to providers . The retained 3% will
cover the costs of administration of the service. The fluctuations
of rates and hours across the providers will be closely monitored
throughout the year to ensure all nurseries receive the funds due
and that the budget is managed sufficiently.
Procurement Advice obtained: N/A
HR Advice obtained: N/A
Climate Change Advice obtained:
N/A
The following documents have been used
to assist the decision process:
Cabinet report - Early Years National Funding
Formula Allocations for:- 1st April 2026 to
31st March 2027

Contact Officer:  David Fielding                         
Telephone number: 0161 778 0707
The appropriate scrutiny to
call-in the decision is the Children’s Scrutiny
Panel.               

 

Signed:
Paul Dennett                     
Dated: 18th February 2026
           
City Mayor

For Democratic
Services use only

This decision was
published on 18.02.26                                              

This decision will
come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 25.02.26 unless it is called-in in accordance with the
Decision Making Process Rules.