The premium can be claimed by a childcare provider if a child at their setting is accessing free early education for three and four year olds and the child's parent or carer receives one of the following benefits:
- Income support
- Income based jobseekers allowance
- Income related employment and support allowance
- Support under part VI of the immigration and asylum act 1999
- The guaranteed element of state pension credit
- Child tax credit (provided they are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190 (please note you must not be claiming working tax credit)
- Working tax credit run-on (which is paid for four weeks after a family stops qualifying for working tax credit)
- Universal credit –for places starting in the summer term of 2018 (on or after 1 April 2018), or any subsequent term, if a parent is entitled to Universal Credit they must have an annual net earned income equivalent to and not exceeding £7,400, assessed on up to three of the parents most recent Universal credit assessment periods
Or the child is in one of the following groups:
- They are currently being Looked after by the local authority in England or Wales
They have left care in England and Wales through:
- An adoption order
- a special guardianship order
- a child arrangement order
Identifying eligible children
Early years providers are ultimately responsible for identifying eligible children, so that local authorities can provide the appropriate funding. Providers should speak to parents to find out who is eligible for EYPP funding, especially to the parents of children who took up the early education entitlement for two year olds as many of these children will attract EYPP when they turn three.
It will be the responsibility of the local authorities Virtual School head to identify the children who are currently in local authority care.
Which providers will be eligible?
All registered early years PVI providers that take children for the funded early education entitlement will be eligible to claim the EYPP for three and four year olds. Academy nurseries and maintained nursery schools are also eligible to claim.
How do I claim the premium?
Providers must submit data on parents/carers, including their name, date of birth and National Insurance or NASS number for a check to be done. We will check eligibility after each actual headcount task. Once the children are checked and eligible, they remain eligible for 12 months, which means that any further checks completed in the following terms will capture any late starters and/or new children.
This data is submitted via the Capita Provider Headcount Portal. The parents should be informed that any personal details they provide will be used for the purpose of checking eligibility. Data can initially be gathered via your parental agreement form.
From September 2023, EYPP is paid at a national rate of 66 pence for every free early education hour that an eligible child attends their setting. We pass on the full rate to providers. Please see the following table for examples of monies paid to number of eligible children who are attending their full 15 hours of free early education a week.
| Number of children drawing EYPP |
Amount each year |
| 1 |
£376.20 |
| 5 |
£1,881.00 |
| 10 |
£3,762.00 |
| 15 |
£5,643.00 |
The EYPP is paid alongside existing funding for the three and four year old funding entitlement. Children do not need to access the full entitlement to be eligible for the early years pupil premium; providers will be paid on a pro rata basis.
From April 2024 the EYPP will increase to 68p per hour for both Three and Four Year Old Funding and Two Year Old Funding for children who access two year old funding through families receiving some additional financial government support funding stream.
What is my role in promoting the early years pupil premium to parents and carers?
With the EYPP becoming more embedded throughout early years there is much to consider for all settings to make the best possible use of EYPP and demonstrate the impact it will have.
Effective use of the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)
The Department for Education has indicated that early year's providers can choose how they wish to spend the premium but it must be based on the needs of the eligible children at your setting. Settings should use evidence about what works when making a decision and it must raise the quality of their early education offer. The main accountability for the use of EYPP will be through Ofsted inspections. Help with planning for the use of EYPP monies has been developed by Early Education Association.