disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds - such is the promise of the
Early Years Pupil Premium.
However, as our Analysis (pages 12-13) in this issue shows, while the money is undoubtedly welcome, there are a series of challenges to be overcome.
The timing of universal infant free school meals is not helpful in terms of identifying children who qualify for EYPP. Already, schools are seeing numbers of children in their first three years of school claiming pupil premium dropping as parents no longer have the direct benefit of free food to incentivise them to register.
Nurseries have no such incentive to offer, and now cannot be aided by knowing that older siblings of the children in their care are eligible because of free school meal take-up.
Persuading parents to check their eligibility could also be tricky. But the first essential is that nurseries themselves are fully clued up about the scheme and are ready to have a dialogue with parents about it - April is only just round the corner. And it seems that quite a number of nurseries still don't even know what the EYPP is. Keeping up with every change and initiative while running a busy setting can be a challenge in itself, and good communication is vital.
The amount of EYPP per pupil, at £302 a year, is obviously considerably below the school pupil premium, and there has been quite a reaction about this in terms of the difference that the money can make to disadvantaged children.
It is a shame, of course, that the EYPP is not worth more, but it will be even more of a shame if a significant proportion of the total funding doesn't even end up being allocated to the three- and four-year-olds it is intended for.
