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The Graduated Response levels and funding rates
Worcestershire County Council provides free early education places for all three and four-year-old and eligible two-year-old children within Worcestershire.
The Early Years Inclusion Supplement Funding is based on Graduated Response (GR) levels that practitioners can allocate to children in receipt of Nursery Education Funding (NEF) on the Provider Portal.
- GR1 – (already included within all NEF hourly rates)
- GR2 – (already included within all 2-year-old NEF hourly rates)
- GR3
- GR4
Hourly rates
NEF hourly rates 2024/25
The agreed hourly rates from April 2024 are:
Funding age group | Hourly rate |
---|---|
3 and 4 year olds | £5.09 |
2 year olds | £7.05 |
under 2 (from Sept 20204) | £9.59 |
Inclusion Supplement hourly rates 2024/25
These funding levels are received by the providers, in addition to the NEF hourly rates.
GR level | Age group | Hourly supplement |
---|---|---|
GR2 | 3 and 4 year olds only | £0.90 |
GR3 | All funded children | £1.60 |
GR4 | All funded children | £2.86 |
Exceptional | All funded children, approval required | £6.30 |
All children either in receipt of a final EHCP or underassessment, who access NEF, will receive Exceptional Inclusion Supplement at £6.30 per hour, pending a successful funding application and termly monitoring form.
These GR levels indicate provision that the local authority expects providers to make for children in the early years foundation stage – that which is ordinarily available in the early years to all children – whatever the level of need.
For each group of children detailed information is given about the local authority’s expectations, in terms of:
- level and description of difficulty
- assessment, planning and review
- environment, adaptations and equipment
- examples of strategies and early learning activities
- external agencies and resources
The descriptors are not an exhaustive list. We do not expect a child to have all the needs listed in each category, for them to be eligible. The child's primary area of delay should indicate the type of provision that will meet their needs.
An easy-to-use table highlighting all levels of need Local Inclusion Fund - Overview of Levels of Provision and Needs (PDF).
Providers are able to calculate the inclusion supplement you will receive by downloading our inclusion supplement calculator
A spreadsheet to help settings predict their termly inclusion funding in order to spend it appropriately throughout the whole term. It also includes an overview sheet for recording the inclusion spend, and the outcomes the spend achieves.
For further information on the full Graduated Response, please visit: The SEND Graduated Response page.