Headcount week
The email from the local authority arrives: the headcount portal is open, the deadline is in ten days. The manager clears an afternoon, then another. Every funded child needs to be on the claim with the right hours, the right number of weeks and, for some, a current eligibility code. The information is in the nursery software, the parent declaration forms in a folder, and a spreadsheet the previous manager started.
Halfway through, it turns out two declarations are unsigned, one code has not been reconfirmed, and a child who changed their pattern last month is still on the old hours. Chasing parents in headcount week is nobody's favourite job.
Why the claim is rebuilt from scratch every term
The information for a funding claim is created all through the term, in small pieces, but it is only assembled at the deadline. By then some of it is missing and some has changed.
- Parent declarations are signed on paper at different times and filed separately from bookings.
- Eligibility codes have reconfirmation dates that nobody tracks until the claim.
- Children change their sessions during the term, which changes the funded hours claimed.
- Children who start or leave mid term need adjustments your local authority handles in its own way.
- The portal wants the data in its format, so it is retyped rather than exported.
The rules for what can be claimed come from your local authority. We do not interpret them. We make sure the data you need to follow them is complete and in one place.
What the scramble costs
Days of manager time each term, at a point when the setting still needs running. Claims that are wrong or late can mean funding is delayed or adjusted later, which leaves a hole in cash flow. And parents who are chased urgently for a signature or a code feel the pressure too.
Adjustments after the fact are the other hidden cost: correcting a claim later takes longer than getting it right the first time.
How we keep the claim ready
- Each funded child has a funding record linked to their booking: entitlement type, hours, weeks, code if there is one, and the date the declaration was signed.
- Parent declarations are signed digitally and stored against the child, with the term they apply to.
- Reconfirmation dates for codes are tracked, and parents get a reminder ahead of the date you set, with the office copied.
- Changes to sessions during the term update the funded hours on the claim list, with the date of change kept.
- Before each deadline, a check lists every gap: missing declarations, expired codes, children with bookings but no funding record and the reverse.
- The claim list is produced in the layout your local authority's portal needs, for upload where the portal allows it, or as a clear list for keying.
| Gap found | When it is found now | When it is found with the system |
|---|---|---|
| Unsigned declaration | In headcount week | When the term's declarations go out |
| Code not reconfirmed | When the claim is entered | Weeks earlier, with a parent reminder |
| Pattern changed mid term | Maybe never | The day the booking changes |
| Funded hours not matching booking | When a parent queries an invoice | In the pre-deadline check |
Headcount, the next time
The portal opens. The manager runs the pre-deadline check, which shows two things to sort out, both already chased by reminder. The claim list is exported and uploaded or keyed in an hour or two. The invoices for the term already use the same funding records, so what you claim and what you bill agree.
When the local authority asks a question later, the declaration, the code and the booking history for that child are all together.
Does headcount week sound familiar?
- Each term's funding claim takes days to assemble.
- Declarations are paper forms in a folder.
- Code reconfirmation dates are not tracked in advance.
- Parents are chased for signatures just before the deadline.
- Funded hours on invoices and on the claim sometimes disagree.