Early education funding for two, three and four-year-olds

This page highlights the additional supplements that can be added, subject to eligibility, to the early education funding.

Early Years Pupil Premium:

• Early Years Pupil Premium is additional funding, that providers can claim for children receiving the two-year-old disadvantaged entitlement, two-year-old working parent entitlement and the 3 and 4 year old universal funding whose parents/carers are in receipt of qualifying benefits. Help with childcare costs 
• Providers are paid an additional 68p per hour for those eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) up to a maximum of 15 hours per week. EYPP is not applied to the extended entitlement hours.
• Providers can use this extra funding to support each eligible child and improve outcomes for them. 
• Detailed information should be kept recording what the funding was used for, how the decision was made to use it, and how outcomes for each child have been improved – Ofsted may ask providers about how they have supported eligible children when they inspect the setting.

How to claim:

• To claim the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP), parents must fully complete and sign the EYPP application section on Part 2 of the Parental Declaration Form (PDF). 
• providers will need to add this information on the FIS Synergy Provider Portal, parents/carer tab, at Headcount. 
• Providers must check the Provider Portal after the Headcount week to check which children have received EYPP, this will be shown in the child’s weightings column if granted. 
• EYPP payments will be paid to providers with the Actual payment for the term.

Note: Warwickshire Looked After Children (LAC) will automatically have the EYPP weighting added to their record. To claim EYPP for a LAC from another LA, providers will need to send supporting information to the Funding Team via the document upload system in the Provider Portal.

Deprivation Factor:

• The Deprivation Factor (DF) is an additional premium of 68p per hour paid to the provider for on children living in a postcode that falls within the most deprived 30% of postcodes as determined by IDACI (income Deprivation Affecting Children Index). 
• The DF is paid automatically to the provider and can be used to benefit all children in the setting.
• If this has been added to the child’s funding base rate, ‘DF’ will show in the weightings column next to the child’s name on the Provider Portal.

Disability Access Fund:

• The Disability Access Fund (DAF) was introduced to support disabled children’s access to the early years entitlement for three and four-year-olds. From April 2024, this has been extended to two-year-olds.
• Providers receive £910 per eligible child per calendar year. 
• The funds can be used, for example, to support providers in making reasonable adjustments to their settings and/or helping with building capacity, either for the child in question or for the benefit of all children attending the setting.
• Two, three and four-year-olds will be eligible for DAF if they meet the following criteria:
  • The child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
    And
  • The child receives one of the two-year old entitlements or the three and four-year-old universal 15 hours entitlement
• Children do not have to take up the full 570 hours of early education funding that they are entitled to in order to receive the £910 DAF payment. 

How to claim:

• The parent/carer will need to fully complete the Disability Access Fund (DAF) section in Part 2 of the Parental Declaration Form
• Providers will need to check eligibility by seeing a copy of the child’s Disability Living Allowance (DLA) award letter. 
• A copy of the child’s Disability Living Allowance (DLA) award letter must be sent to the Funding Team using the secure document upload tab on the Synergy FIS Provider Portal during the Headcount period for the LA to authorise the payment
• DAF is usually paid as an adjustment with the actual payment.  It can be seen in the Adjustment Payments in the Summary Tab in the Provider Portal.