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Claim an early years teacher recognition payment

Use this service to claim a recognition payment of £4,500 after tax if you’re an eligible early years teacher.

You must meet the eligibility criteria for the early years teacher recognition payment. Read the guidance for full details about who can claim and how the payment works.

What you need

You’ll need:

  • your teacher reference number (TRN) - you’ll have one if you have, or are working towards, early years professional status (EYPS), qualified teacher status (QTS) or early years teacher status (EYTS)
  • a GOV.UK One Login account to prove your identity - you’ll need a UK passport, UK photo driving licence or biometric residence permit to set it up
  • your bank details, including the full name on the account, sort code and account number
  • your gender as it appears on payroll
  • a recent payslip from the last 2 months

Before you start

If you need to find a lost TRN, do this before you claim. It can take 5 working days to recover your TRN.

If you need to set up a GOV.UK One Login account, this can take 2 weeks.

How long it takes to claim

If you have your TRN and One Login account it takes around 10 minutes to submit a claim.

What happens after you submit a claim

You’ll get an email to tell you if you’re eligible.

If you’re eligible, you’ll be paid within 16 weeks.

Contact us

If you have any questions, email EY-teacher.recognitionpayment@education.gov.uk.

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