Application deadlines and payments schedule
We pay inclusion funding payments alongside monthly EYE payments. We will notify providers when their application is reviewed and agreed. Providers should then add the child to their register in the early years hub. The inclusion funding will be added as a 'weighting' next to the child's record.
Primary deadlines - applications and reviews
Autumn 2026
- from 1 September 2026 - providers will receive payment linked to EYE funding
- 10 July 2026 - deadline for inclusion applications and review forms
- 24 September 2026 - payment due to providers
Spring 2027
- from 1 January 2027 - providers will receive payment linked to EYE funding
- 13 November 2026 - deadline for inclusion applications and review forms
- 21 January 2027 - payment due to providers
Summer 2027
- from 1 April 2027 - providers will receive payment linked to EYE funding
- 26 February 2027 - deadline for inclusion applications and review forms
- 22 April 2027 - payment due to providers
Secondary deadlines for emergency applications only
These deadlines are for children who have started at the setting unexpectedly and additional funding is needed. Reviews will not be accepted at these emergency panels.
Consideration will also be given at the emergency deadline to applications made for a child requiring time-consuming interventions to manage an unstable long- term medical condition which has been identified since the last deadline. This must be evidenced through a health care plan supported by a medical professional.
The secondary deadline is not intended for the routine management of established medical needs where care requirements were known and stable at the previous deadline.
Autumn 2026
- from 1 November 2026 - providers will receive payment linked to EYE funding
- 18 September 2026 - deadline for inclusion applications and review forms
- 19 November 2026 - payment due to providers
Spring 2027
- from 1 March 2027 - providers will receive payment linked to EYE funding
- 22 January 2027 - deadline for inclusion applications and review forms
- 18 March 2027 - payment due to providers
Summer 2027
- from 1 June 2027 - providers will receive payment linked to EYE funding
- 21 May 2027 - deadline for inclusion applications and review forms
- 22 July 2027 - payment due to providers