Local authorities with children eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) are to receive £10,000 each from the Department for Education (DfE) to help them get ready for its introduction in April.
How they spend the money is down to each local authority, however the DfE says they may choose to upgrade their IT systems to smooth the transition or use the funding to communicate with childcare providers.
Earlier in the week, the DfE published a template form and letter for providers to use to identify eligible children.
Under the EYPP, early years settings will be able to claim an additional 53p an hour for every disadvantaged three- and four-year-old in their care that qualify for the funding.
Making the announcement about the additional funding, childcare minister Sam Gyimah said, ‘I’m delighted we are helping the most disadvantaged children access high quality early education, giving them the best possible start in life.
‘The Early Years Pupil Premium gives money to providers so they can make sure eligible children have the best possible outcomes when they start school and beyond. The early years count and it will be life changing for many of these children.
‘I would encourage any parent who meets the criteria to let a local provider know, so that their child can get the right support at the right time.’
Schools Minister David Laws said, ‘Every child should be able to reach their full potential, no matter what their background.
‘The Pupil Premium is already helping to build a fairer society with opportunity for everyone. The extension of the Pupil Premium to early years will give toddlers from the poorest families the support they need to develop and learn at this important early stage.’
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, 'The Early Years Pupil Premium is an important first step in ensuring that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are given the support they deserve, and so it is vital that the initiative is underpinned by effective local systems that ensure the efficient distribution of funding. As such, we welcome the announcement of additional funding to help local councils prepare for the introduction of the scheme.
'Many providers involved in the EYPP pilots have fed back that the process of identifying eligible parents can be lengthy and complex, and so we would urge local authorities to considering using at least some of this additional funding to support providers in tackling this problem, as this will be vital to the long-term success of the scheme.
'We hope that the Department for Education will continue to work with local councils to ensure both they and local providers continue to be adequately supported to deliver the scheme going forward.'
