It is important to be able to justify the choices you make as to how you spend the EYPP money. The focus needs to be on “closing the gap” and for this cohort of children to be making more rapid progress if there is an identified risk of delay or delay in their development. Remember that you will already have strategies in place for supporting these children and their families. This funding will enable you to refine and focus what you already do, as well as introduce further strategies. It is going to be important to analyse any information such as data from tracking systems, monitoring processes, parents’ comments etc and use this to decide how the money will be spent and again when assessing the impact of the spend.
Some things to consider
- What trends have emerged in relation to need?
- What trends have emerged in relation to interests?
- What is already in place and could be developed further?
- What longevity will this strategy have? How might impact be maximised further?
- Who is best placed to lead on this strategy?
Practical support
It is sometimes useful to use a planning document that will support your thinking. A range of possible formats you might find helpful have been included here. These are starting points and can be adapted by you to suit your needs.
- Practice development grid
- Grid that focuses on child’s interests and needs
- Justifying your spending grid
In addition it is sometimes helpful to decide on how you will spend the money and then think about how the impact may be extended. Here is a format that may help you to do this.
Each format has a section for you to analyse the success you have had and how you are planning to develop it further. This analysis is as important as the decision you make as to how the funding is going to be spent. This analysis will help you to be able to confidently show you have spent the money wisely.
Some local authorities developed formats that might help you to justify your spending and to help you decide on your spending.
Thinking about and allocating the funding is a process and you will become more expert at it over time.