Early Years Payments Overview

Managing Early Years payment is intended for Local Authority staff using One Early Years to manage their early years provision and to make payments to childcare providers for free entitlement.

The government provides funding for all three and four-year-old children, starting from the funding period after their third birthday until they start school, to attend an Ofsted registered early years setting. Some two-year olds are also eligible for funding.

Registered early years settings provide funded services and make claims for payment on behalf of parents or carers, by submitting headcount information to the Local Authority.

One Early Years enables the Local Authority to manage their early years provision and record information on young children in, including the number of hours they are attending, and the number of hours funded through free entitlement.

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

The Early Years module enables you to check eligibility on economic grounds for Early Years Pupil Premium, for children in the correct age range, through the government’s Eligibility Checking Service (ECS). The check can be initiated for a single child or for all children as a bulk check.

Children who are identified as being eligible for EYPP will have the correct premium rate added as a Single Funding Formula  (SFF) payment, alongside payments to settings for funded hours.

For authorities who have purchased the Provider Portal Headcount module, the required information for making an eligibility check via ECS (surname, date of birth, NI or NASS number of a child’s parent/carers) can be collected by settings as part of a headcount collection task. Settings can be informed as to which children are eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium via the Provider Portal messaging system. As such, settings can plan expenditure to raise achievement in those children who are identified as being most in need.