Early Years Pupil Premium aims to improve the outcomes for eligible children receiving additional support when accessing the funded entitlements.
Eligibility
- Income support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Park VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit - (provided parents are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit - household income must be less than £7,400 a year after tax, not including any benefits you get.
Non-economic criteria
In addition, a child could be eligible if they:
- are being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales
- have left care in England and Wales through:
- adoption
- a special guardianship order
- a child arrangement order
How to apply
- Providers are responsible for identifying families that could be eligible for EYPP and should gather the necessary info and permission by completing the EYPP section of the parent declaration form and privacy notice which must be completed for all children accessing any form of funded childcare.
- Providers may not always be aware of a family’s eligibility, therefore providers may also ask all families to complete the relevant sections of the parent declaration so that EYPP eligibility can be checked for all children.
- Providers will need to complete an application form for families who could receive EYPP through the non-economic criterion i.e. looked after child, left care or children under special guardianship or child arrangement order.
Points to consider
- Families could become eligible for EYPP from any point they meet the criteria and are accessing the funded hours.
- Early Years Pupil Premium is paid against the first 15 hours of the child's applicable entitlement up to the maximum of 570 hours per year. Children do not need to attend for all their funded hours to be eligible. Early Years Pupil Premium is paid at a rate of £1.15 per hour claimed, the maximum a provider could receive is up to £655.50 per year.
- Look out for notifications for the Early Education Funding (EEF) Team via the Early Years Portal and act on tasks within the timeframe allocated.
- When submitting claims via the EY Portal for children potentially eligible through the economic criterion, ensure the Carers' section is populated with the parent information and National Insurance number obtained on the parent declaration form.
- Confirmation of EYPP eligibility usually takes 2-4 weeks after the start of the term if the child was added to the interim/ forecast task. This will be visible by the initial EYPP next to the child’s name in the setting’s EY Portal claim and statements.
- For eligible children who start at a setting after the term begins, EYPP will be paid later in that term if the child is added to the actual headcount.
- Early years providers should spend EYPP funding in full within the academic year for which it has been allocated
How can EYPP be spent?
Early years providers should ensure EYPP funding is used to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children by spending on activities, staff training and resources that specifically impact educational outcomes for disadvantaged children.
The Education Endowment Foundation has prepared a guide on Early Years Pupil Premium for providers. It contains guidance on how to create an EYPP strategy, tailor personalised support for children, and develop quality practice