Early Years Pupil Premium

The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding for early years settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 3 and 4 year-old children.  Early years settings offering education and care for children aged under 5 include:  pre-schools, private day nurseries, children centres, school governor run groups and childminders.

3 and 4 year-old children in state-funded early education will attract EYPP funding if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

• income support; 
• income-based Jobseeker's 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're not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190); 
• Working Tax Credit run-on, which is paid for 4 weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit; 
• Universal Credit; 
• they are currently being looked after by a local authority in England and Wales; 
• they have left care in England or Wales through: 
  • an adoption;
  • a special guardianship order; 
  • a child arrangement order.

Children must receive free early education in order to attract EYPP funding. They do not have to take up the full 570 hours of early education they are entitled to in order to get EYPP. 

Children become eligible for free early education at different points in the year depending on when they turn three. Four-year-old children in primary school reception classes who already receive the school-age pupil premium are not eligible for EYPP funding.