The Department for Education identifies disadvantaged pupils as:

• Eligible for free school meals or have been in the last six years
• Looked-after children (LAC), or those who have previously looked after by the state, but are now adopted or are subject to a special guardianship order, a child arrangement order or a residence order
• Children with parents in the armed forces

It is assumed that these children are disadvantaged in comparison to others because of low family income, little or no family support (LAC) or lots of school moves; all of which have been proven to have a negative impact on progress and attainment when compared to others.

Ofsted recommends that schools, settings and childminders should:

• Ensure that key information, including early assessments, is shared promptly at points of transition so that the needs of the most disadvantaged children are known quickly
• Review their use of the Early Years Pupil Premium to ensure that support is focused on improving the areas of development that will help a child to catch up.” Unknown children – destined for disadvantage? (2016: p.9)

However, the issues around disadvantaged are complex. Penny Tassoni believes:

“… some children, through no fault of their own, are at a disadvantaged throughout their educational journey and beyond. Whilst early years settings have always strived to support children’s development, some children have a measurable advantage over others very early on in life. I dub these children as being lucky children”. Reducing educational disadvantage: a strategic approach in the early years (2016:p.6)

The government provides funding, the Early Years Pupil Premium, (EYPP) and Pupil Premium (PP) to allow schools and settings to put interventions into place to try to close the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. During an early years Ofsted inspection or school Ofsted inspection, the inspector will want to 'track' the progress and achievement of at least two children, where one child is accessing the EYPP. The inspector will also evaluate how well leaders use the additional EYPP/PP funding to improve the children's outcomes.

Top tips when planning to close the gap with children at risk of disadvantage

• Introduce your children to a wide knowledge of nursery rhymes to support their phonemic awareness
• Support your children in developing a love and knowledge of books through sharing them on a 1:1 or 1:2 basis with an adult
• Plan a range of cooking activities on different days, so children who do not attend on certain days do not miss out
• Introduce a range of malleable materials so that children can learn about texture, shape and form
• Help your children to learn about the local environment and gain cultural experiences through regular outings
• Invite visitors into your school / setting to help your children to learn more about specific skills, hobbies and job roles
• Introduce your children to traditional games such as snap, picture lotto, Ludo, to support their mathematical and cognitive development as well as their social skills
• Plan for a wide range of role play opportunities to extend your children’s vocabulary and their knowledge of different situations
• Ensure that your children develop the necessary hand/eye coordination skills and movements to support self-care as well as early writing
• Observe, assess and plan what type of self-care skills, including toileting and dressing, your children need in your school /setting
• Introduce your children to the natural world so that they can recognise and name a range of animals, plants and natural phenomena
  

  Tassoni, P. Reducing educational disadvantage: strategic approach in the early years (2016:p.55).

Research shows that one of the main impacts on narrowing the gap for disadvantaged children is the home learning environment. This requires practitioners to support parents to influence the home learning environment. More information can be found on the 'Working with parents' page.

The Early Years team has worked in partnership with Public Health and the Strengthening Families teams to produce a school readiness leaflet to support parents called 'How I grow and learn my journey to school', available on this page under 'Related information'.