Research and analysis
Early years financial incentives: evaluation report
Report on the 2024 to 2025 early years financial incentives (EYFI) pilot
Applies to England
Documents
Details
The EYFI pilot was a recruitment initiative implemented by the Department for Education, through which a £1,000 recruitment bonus was offered to eligible new and returning early years workers shortly after they took up post. What we’re doing to recruit more early years workers includes further information about the initiative.
‘Early years financial incentives: final report’ presents findings from the pilot conducted in 40 local authorities, based on:
- process evaluations via surveys of applicants, providers and local authorities to assess the implementation of the incentives
- impact evaluation using quantitative analysis to assess the effect the incentives had on recruitment
‘Early years financial incentives evaluation: technical report’ outlines the aims and methodologies of the process and evaluations in more depth.
Updates to this page
Published 30 October 2025