THE AIM OF THE EARLY YEARS PUPIL PREMIUM 

To close the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and other children by providing additional funding to settings such as ours, therefore providing the opportunity to raise the quality of provision we offer.

All children aged three and four (not two year olds), who meet the eligibility criteria will benefit from the funding. This funding is paid directly to us on an hourly rate basis, linked to claimed hours for entitled children. The annual value for a 15 hour place over a full year is just over £300 and since we are registered to offer early years places we can receive the EYPP. In order to be able to claim this funding we require parents to sign the funding agreement which asks for details of parents' dates of birth and National Insurance number.

WHO WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE EARLY YEARS PUPIL PREMIUM?

A child will be eligible for the EYPP if they:
1. Are in a low-income family and their parents are in receipt of benefits (one or more), for example, Child Tax Credit and Income Support;
2. Have been adopted from care;
3. Have left care through special guardianship;
4. Have been looked after by the local authority for at least the span of one day;
5. Are subject to a child arrangement order.

WHAT CAN THE FUNDING BE SPENT ON?
 
As an Early Years setting we have the freedom to choose how we spend the money to best support disadvantaged children in our care. Our nursery school will use the additional funding in the following ways:

1. Provide enrichment activities like trips to the theatre, animal visits and outings in our minibus.
2. Continue our commitment to furthering our knowledge within our Continuing Professional Development by attending relevant training.
3. Offer ‘Home/Setting’ learning bags for parents to share with their children.
4. Provide 2 weeks of play scheme in the summer for eligible children.
5. Provide additional staff to allow us to provide more acceptable child/adult ratios.
6. Purchasing additional resources.

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF THE EARLY YEARS PUPIL PREMIUM.

We are continually reviewing the data we collect on children’s attainment and refreshing our strategies to support children who are falling behind or in danger of doing so. The practical ideas that are implemented on a daily basis are only a few of the strategies used and their success can be monitored through the data. However, there are other ways that we measure and monitor the impact we have on families. These are:

1. Parent questionnaires;
2. Informal conversations at the start or end of a day;
3. Parent feedback on FAMLY about the children’s learning journeys, the Parents Comments Book or by word of mouth;
4. Formal consultations;
5. Conversations with professionals we work alongside to support families;
6. Signposting to available courses and sessions in Children’s Centre - Cookery, Parenting, Brush For Life, etcetera;
7. FAMLY data tracker

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO DO SO FAR...

We have offered enrichment opportunities throughout the year. Some of these have been:

• Trips to the theatre
• Theatre company visiting our setting
• Zoolab visiting our setting
• Parent classes
• Two weeks of free Play Scheme sessions in the summer vacation to provide continuity
• Maths and children’s listening skills and speech, have been highlighted again as areas where children struggle to meet their milestones so we have provided intervention groups focusing on speech and language as well as number skills. We also invite parents to join our sessions on Language for Life and Mathematics at Home. These workshops provided parents with practical information and ideas on how to foster language and resources to help with developing children’s mathematical skills at home.

 Please see the breakdown of the Early Years Pupil Premium expenditure and impact in the report below. 

LOOK HOW WE HAVE BEEN USING THE FUNDING...