Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that Early Years Pupil Premium funding is aligned with the Government’s quality improvement objectives in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

The government is taking coordinated steps to ensure that early years pupil premium (EYPP) aligns with broader quality improvement objectives in early years education.

Through the department’s Best Start in Life strategy, we are ensuring families across the country can access affordable, high-quality early education and family support services that support them to thrive.

In April 2025, we increased funding for EYPP by an unprecedented 45%, to a maximum of £570 per year per child in all local authorities across England.

The government’s new early years strategy, ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’, explicitly links EYPP with its wider goals of reducing inequalities early in life, improving early years provision, strengthening transitions into primary school and enhancing workforce development through training and professional recognition. This includes additional EYPP funding targeted at high-need areas and the creation of published guidance to drive quality of spend.

From 2026, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education wants to provide additional funding to extend EYPP in areas most in need, and test different approaches to using this funding to understand how best to maximise its impact, ensuring that the children most at risk of falling behind receive high-quality evidence-informed support.