Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Early years pupil premium (EYPP) is extra funding that is available to support eligible children.

Childcare providers could claim an extra 0.68 pence per hour which could be up to £387.60 per year. EYPP is payable up to a maximum of 570 funded hours a year.

Eligibility

From April 2024, children could be eligible if they receive one of the following:

  • 15 funded hours for disadvantaged 2-year-olds, known as Best Start, or
  • 15 funded hours for 2 year olds eligible for the working parent entitlement, or
  • 15 hours as the universal entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds

Economic criteria

  • 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 - this is assessed on up to three of the parent's most recent universal credit assessment periods

Non-economic criteria

In addition, a child could be eligible if they:

  • Are being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales
  • The child has left through:
    • An adoption order
    • A special guardianship order
    • A child arrangement order

Please email the EEF team at eef@herefordshire.gov.uk regarding applications for non-economic criteria as you will need to include any relevant documents to verify the child's status. Without these we will be unable to process your claim.

How to apply

Childcare providers will identify families who could be eligible against the economic criteria. Providers claiming funded hours for eligible children will submit EYPP claims via the EY Portal by completing the Carer Details section against the child's EEF claim ensuring the EYPP permission indicator has been marked. The parent's National Insurance Number and date of birth will be required for economic claims. These details should have been added to the parent declaration form when the child started.

For non-economic claims - looked after child, left care or children under a special guardianship or child arrangement order, please contact the EEF team at eef@herefordshire.gov.uk to request an EYPP claim form and submit the completed form to the EEF team via Anycomms to Early Education Funding (formerly NEF Team) along with the accompanying evidence.

How to check that a child is confirmed eligible for EYPP

Childcare providers can log into the Provider Portal to check the eligibility status for whom checks have been performed. Any eligible children will have the Child Weighting indicator EYPPD.

4 year olds attending a primary school reception class are not entitled to EYPP but could be entitled to pupil premium. Parents should speak with their child's school.

Effective use of the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Getting the most out of your pupil premium requires careful consideration and planning. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has produced a Guide to the Pupil Premium—and its associated resources and case studies—designed to support you in planning, implementing, monitoring, and sustaining an effective strategy to use your Pupil Premium funding in ways that make the biggest possible difference for your pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This means you can be confident that your approach fulfils the expectations of the Pupil Premium strategy document.