A Parent's Guide

Early Years Pupil Premium – A Parent’s Guide 

The Sutton Trust claims that at the start of school there is a 19 month gap between the most and least advantaged children in society. Many disadvantaged children are already behind when they start school and these gaps that are apparent in the early years, between disadvantaged children and their peers, persist and widen throughout school and beyond. 

Closing this gap and eradicating this inequality is fundamental to ensuring all children get the best start in life. The Government is therefore prioritising high quality early education because it can make a dramatic difference to children’s life chances. 

The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding given to early years providers to spend on enriching children’s education and improving outcomes for eligible children the term after they turn 3 if they meet the set eligibility criteria.

The EYPP is focused on the most disadvantaged children, it is targeted at 3 and 4 year olds from economically disadvantaged household and those who are in or have an adoption order, as well as looked-after children and those whose parents are in the armed forces. Children with a SEND plan or get Disability Living Allowance may also be eligible. In general, children who would be eligible for free school meals later on are eligible for the EYPP.

We know that a high-quality early education can influence how well a child does at both primary and secondary school so we are very keen to access this funding where we can. All families will be asked to fill in all sections of the Cambridgeshire Count Me In Funding Form given to you.  This will allow us to claim the funding for all eligible children. Eligibility is checked simply using a parent/carer's National Insurance number or National Asylum Support Service numbers and date of birth. 

Your child's Key Person and the Pre Schools manager (Early Years Pupil Premium Co-ordinator) will work together with you to create a plan and discuss ideas in which we can support your child’s development. 

We use the extra funding in several ways to improve the quality of the early years education that we provide for your child.

• To purchase home learning resources
• To provide staff training
• To provide and pay for outside agencies to come in our Pre School
• To provide extra staffing for 1:1 and small group activities
• To purchase resources which link to children’s individual needs and interests

However, the money is spent, Folksworth Pre School will need to be clear with our parents and Ofsted on how this has resulted in a measurable quality improvement for children who are falling behind or in danger of doing so. We are constantly monitoring our strategies and to ensure we are meeting the needs of our targeted children.