Early Years pupil premium information for parents

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What it does
Qualifying
More information

Apply

Nurseries, pre-schools, childminders and other childcare providers can claim extra funding through the Early Years Pupil Premium to support children’s development, learning and care.

The form has 3 pages and will take 2 to 3 minutes to complete.

What it does

The Early Years Pupil Premium provides an extra amount of money to the nursery or pre-school for three and four year old children whose parents are in receipt of certain qualifying benefits or who have been adopted or are in care.

The provider can use the funding in any way they chose to improve the quality of the early years education that they provide for the children. This could include, for example, additional training for staff on early language, investing in partnership working with colleagues to further their expertise or supporting staff working on specialised areas such as speech and language.

It is well documented that high quality early education can influence how well a child does at both primary and secondary school. A pupil premium has been available for school age children and it has given a real boost to the children receiving the funding.

Qualifying

The child must attend a setting in Somerset.

Parents and carers who receive any of the following will qualify for The Early Years Pupil Premium:

Universal Credit with an annual income of less than £7,400
Income Support (IS)
Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related) – not Contribution related
Income-based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA) – not Contribution based
Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit.
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Child Tax Credit, providing you do not also receive Working Tax Credit, with an annual taxable income (as assessed by HMRC) of less than £16,190
Three and four year old children that have been adopted, or who have left care through special guardianship or child arrangement orders
Three and four year old children who are Looked After by Somerset County Council.

More information

Once we have your details on record we will carry out checks to see whether you are still entitled. In order to perform these checks we need up to date details to confirm continued entitlement. Therefore, you must let us know of any changes of benefit, name or address of the person in your household receiving the qualifying benefit. Incorrect details may lead us to believe that you are no longer entitled to The Early Years Pupil Premium.

The child care provider will be paid The Early Years Pupil Premium directly. The amount paid will depend on the number of hours Early Years Entitlement that is claimed for the child. Child care providers who do not claim the Early Years Entitlement will not receive Early Years Pupil Premium.

Please talk to the childcare provider to find out how the funding is being spent.

If you apply for Early Years Pupil Premium and are informed that you are not eligible, this does not affect your Early Years Entitlement. If your child is 3 or 4, they are still entitled to 570 funded hours over the year. The content of the not eligible letter can be found under Information and resources.