Guidance

Inclusive early years fund: 2026 to 2027

Additional funding for local authorities delivering the government’s free early years entitlements programme.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 25 March 2026
• Last updated: 22 July 2026 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

Inclusive early years fund for 2026 to 2027: allocations

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 24.3 KB

Inclusive early years fund for 2026 to 2027: conditions of grant and operational guidance for local authorities

HTML

Inclusive early years fund for 2026 to 2027: methodology

HTML

Inclusive early years fund for 2026 to 2027: local authority funding

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 40.5 KB

Inclusive early years fund: best practice guidance for local authorities

HTML

Details

This guidance is for local authorities delivering the government’s free early years entitlements programme.

The additional funding will be paid to local authorities in the 2026 to 2027 financial year to support the early years sector to become more inclusive of children with special educational needs and disabilities. Local authorities will pay this to early years providers in accordance with the conditions of grant.

Allocations

Allocations have now been published and payments will be made at the end of July 2026. Further information on allocations is provided in the grant methodology.

Published 25 March 2026

Last updated 22 July 2026 — Show all updates

1. 22 July 2026

   Added 'Inclusive early years fund for 2026 to 2027: allocations'. Removed 'Local authority inclusive early years funding calculator tool'.

2. 25 June 2026

   Added 'Inclusive early years fund: best practice guidance for local authorities'.

3. 25 March 2026

   First published.