Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

The Department for Education (DfE) introduced an Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) in April 2015 and as of April 2024 this has been expanded to include two-year-olds.

Eligible children can start claiming EYPP in the term in which they become eligible for two-, three- and four-year-old free entitlement.

Providers will receive an additional £0.68p per funded hour for two, three and four-year-olds*

*Please be aware that EYPP is not payable on the additional entitlements for three- and four-year-old children of working parents.

Identifying eligible children

EYPP Economic Criteria

Parent and carers will need to complete the relevant section of the parental declaration giving providers permission to apply for EYPP. The parent needs to be claiming certain benefits or credits for example Income Support or Universal Credit. See Management Information page for full list of eligible benefits or credits.

Children may be eligible for EYPP if they meet the “Other Criteria” shown below.

EYPP Other Criteria

Children may also be eligible for EYPP if they meet the “Other Criteria” shown below.

Children who have left the care of a local authority as a result of an adoption order in England or Wales
Children who have left the care of a local authority as a result of a special guardianship order in England or Wales
Children who have left the care of a local authority as a result of a child arrangements order in England or Wales
Children who are currently being looked after by a Local Authority in England or Wales.

Letting parents and carers know about EYPP

Include the EYPP in publicity and marketing including websites, Facebook etc.
Download the A4 EYPP poster (DOCX, 54.3 KB) to display in the setting.
Include the EYPP as part of universal admissions procedure including information at home visits.
Give parents our FAQs (DOCX, 35.9 KB) about EYPP.
Give examples of how the funding will enable you to give children additional support and how it will help children to be ready for school.

How to apply

Go to Free Early Education, Claiming EYPP and DAF and follow the clear procedure set out by Management Information.

If you have queries email miearlyyears@kent.gov.uk or contact 03000 42 16 12 and ask for Victoria Bentley.

Evaluating the impact

It is important to monitor and evaluate the impact of any additional funding. Consider the following points when you are evaluating:

Have the children progressed in their learning and development? You may wish to refer to your assessment methods, for example, the Milestone Assessment Toolkit (MAT).
What impact has been observed by practitioners?
Have families shared any progress observed at home?
Has the intended outcome for the funding been achieved?
If the impact is minimal, do you need to consider alternative strategies?

An example template for keeping track of EYPP to support the evaluation process:

Ofsted will want to see evidence of impact of the funding, see Ofsted: Unknown children - destined for disadvantage?

The evidence doesn't have to be in any type of format or involve excessive paperwork. This is often gathered through conversations with families and practitioners as part of the inspection activities. If all staff and families have been involved in the decision making process around EYPP, then they should be able to talk about it with confidence and authority.

Useful links

Early Years Pupil Premium: All you need to know is a 20 minute webinar for all early years practitioners including managers, deputies, childminders and other childcare professionals. All Kent settings can now access our KCC funded training and products for free without using a code. Please contact Threadsofsuccess@theeducationpeople.org if you have any problems with your order.
Ideas about how to use EYPP (DOCX, 41.8 KB)
EYPP Provider flowchart (PDF, 60.0 KB)

Other points to remember

Education Endowment Foundation Toolkit shows that funding spent on communication and language projects and self-regulation has the highest impact for the least cost
Ensure to update your settings Additional Educational Needs register.
Consider pooling funding with other settings and in your collaborations
Consider buying the services of outside professionals.

For advice on effective use of EYPP and to receive a call or Kent funded (free) visit, complete and submit electronic request form

Contact us

Contact Management Information for further information about the EYPP scheme in Kent by email at miearlyyears@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 42 16 12 and ask for Victoria Bentley or another member of the team will be able to help you if Victoria is unavailable.