You might be approached by the DfE about support with recruitment and retention
About the early years financial incentive programme
The Early Years Financial Incentive programme is a new initiative designed to address critical staffing challenges in nurseries and pre-schools across England. Its aim is to help nurseries and pre-schools struggling to recruit and retain early years educators by providing £1,000 incentive payments (also known as ‘recruitment bonuses’). These payments can be advertised alongside job roles to attract new practitioners or encourage experienced professionals to return to the sector.
Eligibility criteria for the initiative
Only nurseries that are contacted by Department for Education (DfE) are eligible to take part in the initiative
Early Years Educators who are new or returning to an early year’s setting are eligible for a recruitment bonus if:
- The role they’ve applied for is a permanent part-time or full-time contract – they do not need to work a minimum number of contracted hours to be eligible
- They’ll spend most of the time (70% or more) in their role working directly with children
- They have not worked in a permanent nursery role in the 6 months prior to starting their new role, where they spent most of their time (70% or more) working directly with children.
Early Years Educators are not eligible for a £1,000 recruitment bonus if they are:
- An apprentice, even if they’re on a permanent contract during their apprenticeship – once they complete their apprenticeship and move into a permanent non-apprenticeship role, they will become eligible
- An employee who has returned from a long period of leave, such as maternity leave
- On a non-permanent contract – such as a temporary, voluntary or agency contract.
How the service works
Once an Early Years Educator starts their new role:
- Their employer starts a claim on their behalf, answering questions about the early years educator’s eligibility for a recruitment bonus
- The money is reserved for the Early Years Educator, who receives an email with a link to complete the claim – during this part of the service, the practitioner needs to verify their identity via One Login and submit their personal details (such as their address and bank details)
- After 6 months, the provider is asked via email to confirm that the practitioner is still in their role
- If the practitioners is still in their role, DfE pays the recruitment bonus directly into their bank account.
For further information see: Iterating the Early Years (EY) Claim service guidance pages – Design histories – Department for Education