The Federation of Darlington Nursery Schools

 

Eligibility for the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Please see our latest Early Years Pupil Premium Strategy Plan 2023-2024:

Show list Show Grid

Early Years Pupil Premium Funding

The purpose of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding is to help close the achievement gap between groups of children.

Eligibility

2, 3 and 4 year-olds in Darlington accessing early education sessions in a registered private day nursery, playgroup, with a childminder or in a nursery school or nursery unit will be eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

Their family gets one of the following:

  • Income Support
    1. Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
    2. Income related Employment and Support Allowance
    3. Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
    4. the guarantee element of State Pension Credit
    5. Universal Credits (for children born after 31st December 2015, if a parent is entitled to Universal Credit they must have an annual net earned income equivalent to and not exceeding £15,400, assessed on up to three of the parent’s most recent Universal Credit assessment periods)
    6. Tax Credits and have an annual income of under £16,190 before tax
    7. The Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment parents receive when they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
  1. they are in local authority care
  2. they have left care through special guardianship, an adoption order or a child arrangements order which specifies with whom the child lives.

The Early Years Pupil Premium is a grant paid to registered providers to improve the education they provide to 3 and 4 year olds and for a child who is accessing their full entitlement of 15 hours a week over 38 weeks of the year. It currently equates to around £380 a year but in April 2025 this will increase to £570 .

2 year olds who meet the criteria and are receiving the funded entitlement will also be eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium.

Early years providers are responsible for identifying eligible children and informing the local authority so if you think your child is eligible, then please speak with your childcare provider or nursery school/unit as soon as possible.

Please note, the Early Years Pupil Premium is not a grant which is passed on to parents to offset childcare costs, it is paid to the childcare setting or nursery school/unit to improve provision.

You can see if your child is eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium by using the early years pupil premium online checker. You will need your national insurance number. You can also speak with our administrator about eligibility or for further information, you can ring the Families Information Team on 01325 406222 (option 7) or email pfis@darlington.gov.uk.

Rationale

The purpose of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding is to help ‘close the gap’ between the lowest achieving children and those who are making appropriate progress or above.

The Government allocates extra money per pupil directly to the school when families meet certain criteria relating to household income. Research has shown that these children are more likely to under achieve, therefore the EYPP is specifically used to make sure they reach their full potential in Early Years.

Schools are required to explain how funding is spent and the impact on this group of children’s progress.

High quality teaching and learning is the first step towards ensuring children learn well. We set high aspirations and ensure that all our educators are not only, well qualified, but also, take responsibility, for raising attainment for all children.

We value our families and aim to get to know them well. In 2022 and 2023, we were one of four Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS), and a private setting, who worked with Children North East on a Poverty Proofing Pilot. The work focused on identifying and exploring what could be done within structures, policies, procedures and practice within Early Years settings, to eliminate the barriers of engagement, accessibility, learning and development for children suffering the effects of poverty.

Our Strategy Plan, therefore, reflects our drive and practice to eliminate barriers to access for children and families who may well be living in poverty. We consider the longevity of the investments we make so that it will continue to benefit all children in the future.  At the end of their time with us, all children, whatever their starting point, will have made the very best progress they can.

At Borough Road Nursery School we recognise and appreciate the unique pathways children take to acquire knowledge and understanding. We adopt an individualised approach to addressing barriers to learning and emotional support, as well as providing access to generic support.

How are we using our EYPP funding?

Over the last 5 years we have noticed a steady decline in all children’s attainment within the prime areas on entry to school, specifically within the areas of language and communication, socio-emotional and physical development. Many parents also state that they are worried about the financial challenges they face, as well as struggling with their child’s delayed language development, socio-emotional wellbeing, their school readiness and how they can support their development.

Whilst this decline can be attributed in part to COVID, there are a number of other factors such as increasing screen time use on mobile devices, tablets, televisions, environmental factors such as children spending less time out and about, increasing developmental delay and poor emotional heath and wellbeing. 

We know that children’s emotional well being is the first necessity for effective learning. Evidence shows that children who demonstrate strong characteristics of effective learning, most notably self-regulation (the ability to regulate their feelings, thoughts, and actions) and executive function (a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control- the skills we use every day to learn, work, and manage daily life) are more likely to succeed academically in the long term’ (Birth to 5 Matters).

Some of our EYPP funding is used to ensure every child can participate in events and visits we organise, as well as providing access to appropriate equipment. Enrichment activities and experiences help to increase children’s imaginative capacity, their awareness and understanding of the world around them and the role they can play in looking after themselves and their environment.

Establishing strong creative partnerships through research-led initiatives, which can enhance our practice, and impact positively on outcomes for pupils, is an essential aspect of our EYPP offer. From experience and research we know that children thrive when they are given opportunities to experiment with music and movement, and through the arts. Last year we began a collaborative project with Hullabaloo looking at how we can  better engage our local community in the arts. We worked with a Creative Director - Lucy Cassidy who developed 'The Bloom Project', which culminated in the children inspiring a creative space to be enjoyed by all in October 2024.

https://www.darlingtonnurseryschools.org.uk/Learning/Bloom-Project-Playing-with-Theatre-at-Borough-Road/

 

We value smaller adult to child ratios because we know that some of our children need more help to meet developmental milestones and regulate their emotions. Having strong role models, who can provide small group and one-to one support, during play, helps promote communication and improves language acquisition.  

We work together to find ways to help improve their child’s wellbeing, increase their self-esteem and improve their literacy development. Making learning fun and playful is what we do best and sharing this practice with our parents helps give the children the vocabulary to talk about how they are feeling and communicate their needs well.

In the last few years there has been an increase in ‘sedentary’ behaviour’ and a reduction in physical activity for many children. The changing weather also impacts on children's access to the outdoors. All children are actively encouraged to participate in physical activity, indoor and outdoor, and every child is included in the experiences we have to offer. We use some of our early years pupil premium funding to provide weekly sports activities, where vigorous cardiovascular activity is encouraged as well as purchase outdoor waterproofs.

Measuring the Impact

We are continually reviewing the information we collect on children’s attainment and updating our strategies to support children to achieve well. The strategies we have in place, that are implemented on a daily basis, are only a few of the strategies. Their success can be monitored through the achievements of our children but there are other ways that we measure and monitor the impact we have on our children, families and staff. These are:

  1. Monitoring the quality of interactions between staff and children
  2. Monitoring the types of interactions children have with staff
  3. Monitoring how children respond to the learning environment
  4. Key Educator termly progress discussions
  5. Parent/Staff questionnaires.
  6. Informal conversations at the start or end of a day with staff and parents.
  7. Parent feedback forms provided at progress meetings.
  8. Parent Progress Meetings.
  9. Success after the implementation of the Early Help Assessments (EHA’s), SEND reviews.
  10. Conversations with professionals we work alongside to support families.