Disability Access Fund

If your child is receiving Disability Living Allowance, then your child care provider could receive £910 per year to support them in the setting each year. 

What it is

The Disability Access Fund (DAF) is funding for early years providers to support children with disabilities or special educational needs. It aids access to early years places by supporting providers in making reasonable adjustments to their settings. 

Who can get the funding

Children will be eligible for the Disability Access Fund if they meet the following criteria:

• the child is in receipt of child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and;
• the child accesses the funded entitlement at the early years provider

How to apply

To check eligibility, your childcare provider will ask you to complete a form and provide evidence of your child’s disability living allowance (DLA).

Guidance for childcare providers

To receive the  DAF payment childcare providers must select the ‘nominated for DAF ’ option on the child’s Provider Portal record.  Then email a copy of the child’s  DLA award letter to the FEEE Team at feee@cheshireeast.gov.uk.

How we process the payment

We process payments as soon as possible in the first term the child is eligible for early education. We can only issue the payment after we receive the  DLA award letter.

The Disability Access Fund is an annual payment. If the child is still eligible, providers will continue to receive payments automatically each year without needing to resubmit the DLA letter.

Multiple providers

If a child attends more than one childcare provider, parents must choose one provider to receive the payment.  DAF payment cannot be split between providers.

Changing providers

If a child moves to a new provider, the new provider cannot receive DAF funding until the next anniversary of the first payment. The original provider keeps the initial payment.

Page last reviewed: 25 June 2024