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by Jess Gibson

A new £75 million grant for early years settings, alongside an increase in Early Years Pupil Premium funding rates, has been announced by the Department for Education (DfE) today.

The DfE grant aims to support the delivery of the 35,000 additional staff and 70,000 places required to meet the early entitlement expansion’s projected demand in September 2025.

The government will also uplift the early years pupil premium (EYPP), increasing rates by over 45% to up to £570 per eligible child, per year. This increase is being described as “an investment in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most, to give them the support they need to be ‘school ready’ at age 5 and go on to have the best life chances”.

Commenting, Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said: “For far too long, the Early Years Pupil Premium has remained extremely low – both when compared to the remainder of the education sector and for it to translate to meaningful support for providers. As such, confirmation that it will increase is to be welcomed. 

“That said, if this to truly result in long-term support for the sector it must mark the first step towards bringing the Early Years Pupil Premium in line with primary levels.   

“On top of this, the news that the government will introduce a £75m expansion grant to support the ongoing expansion is positive, which we hope will support settings to sustainably increase their capacity. However, the devil is in the detail, and we look forward to hearing more about how this will work in practice, and what it will mean for the providers in the coming weeks and months.  

“Of course, while any funding increases are encouraging, long-term solutions – including a holistic staffing strategy and funding which reflects the real-terms cost of delivering high-quality early education and care – are absolutely key if the sector is to be both sustainable and able to meet ever increasing demand both now and in the future.”