Getting it right for disadvantaged children – getting it right for all the children

The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) has one aim: to improve outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged children. When we are thinking about our EYPP strategy, the first question we need to ask ourselves is: how we can have the most impact on improving outcomes so that a child’s background does not become a barrier to their success?

The best way to answer big questions like this is to draw on robust research evidence.

The evidence tells us that developing quality practice, and supporting every educator to keep improving, are both especially important for socio-economically disadvantaged pupils.

Investing in quality should be a top priority for EYPP spending.

The evidence we are drawing on here is the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED), a major longitudinal study, funded by the Department for Education. The SEED study is tracking around 5000 children from early years onwards, and includes data on the quality of 1000 settings.

The most recent SEED research report tells us that attending a higher quality early years setting or nursery class in school ‘between ages 2 and 4 was associated with better academic results for Key Stage 1 Maths, Key Stage 1 Science and for a combined Key Stage 1 English and Maths outcome during school Year 2’ (Melhuish and Gardner, 2021, p. 7).

We recommend that you carefully consider how you might spend your EYPP on professional development to enhance or implement some of these evidence-based approaches to developing quality in:

1. High-quality interactions
2. Communication and language
3. Responsive care and supportive routines
4. Self-regulationHow children monitor their emotions and thoughts, and adapt their behaviour in different circumstances. and executive functionCognitive skills that enable children to adapt their thinking and actions to achieve a goal. This might be a self-chosen goal (e.g. To build a tower) or set by an adult (e.g. to respond to a question about a story).
5. Physical development
6. Early literacy
7. Early maths

The SEED research suggests that the benefits of quality are greater for disadvantaged children.

Of course, it’s also positive for every child to experience quality in the early years. This is a powerful example of how getting the provision right for disadvantaged children means getting it right for every child.

Our guide to the EYPP suggests three possible spending choices to develop quality:

• Introduce a professional development programmeA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes.

• Purchase evidence-informed professional development

• Design and deliver training

The important thing to bear in mind is that we are specifically recommending evidence-informed programmes, like Maths Champions.

Maths Champions is a professional development programmeA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes. which typically boosts the progress of children eligible for the EYPP by around six months.

Maths Champions may not be an appropriate choice for your school or setting. In that case, we recommend sustained training which is in line with our evidence-informed guide to Effective Professional Development in the Early Years. This might be training which you buy in or develop yourself. The important thing is to spend your EYPP on evidence-informed professional development – don’t let yourself be swayed by clever marketing or by what other settings or schools are doing! When your decision-making is informed by research evidence, you can be confident that your choices will have impact and make a difference to outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged children in your care.

The EEF Guide to the Early Years Pupil Premium

Maths Champions: a professional development programmeA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes. which builds the knowledge of nursery practitioners to support children’s early mathematical development.

Guide to Effective Professional Development in the Early Years on the EEF’s Early Years Evidence Store