Dear Service Provider,
Equal Start Staffing Supports programme year 2026/2027 is now open and will operate from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027.
Services eligible for Equal Start Staffing Supports will have received a notification on the Early Years Hive.
To qualify for payment under the Equal Start Staffing Supports Programme, designated Equal Start Priority and Transitional Services must:
- Be designated as a Tier 1, Tier 2, or Transitional Service through the Equal Start Identification Model.
- Have submitted a Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement for 2026/2027.
- If a service’s original Core Funding Application Module was submitted on or before 31 August 2026, the service must have reached an Approved status for the August Review and Confirm process under Core Funding 2026/2027.
- If a service’s original Core Funding Application Module is submitted on or after 1 September 2026, the service must have reached an Approved status on the original application.
Services will be eligible for funding from 1 September or from the week they submitted the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement 2026/2027, whichever is later.
To view Staffing Supports allocations, please visit the Funding Tab on the Early Years Hive. Further documents, including ‘How to view your Equal Start Staffing Supports Allocation’ and the ‘Equal Start Staffing Support payment schedule’, are also available under the Resource section of Early Years Hive.
For further guidance and support, the Equal Start Programme Rules 2026/2027 and Equal Start Frequently Asked Questions 2026/2027 are now available on the Early Years Hive in the Equal Start section of Help and Support.
If you require any further assistance or clarification on the above, please contact the Early Years Provider Centre by raising a Service Request on the Early Years Hive.
Regards,
The Early Years Team