INCLUSIVE EARLY YEARS FUND 2026–27

Make your Inclusive Early Years Funding count

Build stronger foundations for inclusion, belonging and emotional wellbeing.

The Department for Education’s (DfE) Inclusive Early Years Fund (IEYF), part of the wider Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF), provides £47 million of additional funding in 2026–27 to help early years settings strengthen inclusive practice, support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and remove barriers to participation.

With funding to be spent by 31 March 2027, this is an opportunity to invest in a legacy programme of sustainable support for children’s personal, social and emotional development.

Hamish & Milo Foundation brings together creative, reusable resources, practitioner training and practical guidance to strengthen inclusive practice, nurture inclusion and belonging in nursery and reception.

Foundation Early Years Programme - A complete programme

How Hamish & Milo Foundation aligns with the IEYF

Every child deserves an equal opportunity to learn, develop and thrive, regardless of their individual needs or circumstances.

The new guidance strongly reflects the importance of consistent, whole-setting approaches rather than isolated interventions. Where children’s needs are identified and supported earlier, barriers to participation are reduced, and inclusion becomes part of everyday practice across the setting.

Hamish & Milo Foundation supports the aims of the Inclusive Early Years Fund by helping settings strengthen inclusive practice, build practitioner confidence and nurture children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED).

  • Early intervention: Supporting young children’s social and emotional development, helping identify and respond to emerging needs.

  • Inclusive practice and belonging: Creating nurturing environments where every child feels safe, valued, heard and connected.

  • Emotional regulation and wellbeing: Helping children recognise, understand and manage big feelings through structured creative, practical activities.

  • Practitioner training and development: Equipping early years staff with the knowledge, resources and guidance to support children’s emotional and social needs.

  • Sustainable, whole-setting provision: Providing engaging, reusable resources and consistent approaches that become embedded in everyday practice.

  • Supporting relationships: Strengthening children’s communication, social skills, friendships and positive connections with others.

A programme built for how young children learn

Hamish & Milo Foundation is a nurturing, play-based SEL programme for children aged 3-5, supporting personal, social and emotional development.

Foundation is suitable for whole-class delivery, small groups, early intervention, targeted SEMH provision, inclusion and transition support and can be adapted to children’s developmental needs. Across the 10-week programme, children are supported through a carefully sequenced journey from understanding themselves to connecting with others.

They explore:

  • Knowing me – Developing self-awareness, confidence and a positive sense of self.

  • Understanding my feelings – Beginning to recognise, name and communicate emotions and notice how feelings can be experienced in the body.

  • What helps me – Exploring co-regulation, asking for help and discovering strategies that can support them when feelings become big.

  • Being with others – Building friendships, empathy, kindness, cooperation, problem-solving and a sense of belonging.

The Inclusive Early Years Fund at a glance

  • £47 million allocated nationally for 2026–27, with a recommended allocation of at least £1,000 per setting, subject to local authority arrangements.

  • Early years providers delivering funded childcare entitlements in England are eligible, with funding distributed through local authorities (LAs).

  • Funding is to strengthen whole-setting inclusive practice, support earlier identification of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and remove barriers to participation, rather than funding support solely for individual children.

  • Local authorities distribute funding to eligible providers and must return any undistributed funds by 31 March 2027. Funding may be pooled across settings where the benefit to each setting can be demonstrated.

  • The IEYF sits alongside existing support, including the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF), Disability Access Fund (DAF), Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and high needs block funding.

Discover how Hamish & Milo Foundation brings together programmes resources, training and impact software to strengthen inclusive practice in nursery and reception settings.

Grounded in child development, attachment-aware and relational practice, emotion coaching and co-regulation, Hamish & Milo Foundation is carefully aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) framework helping children develop the foundations they need to thrive.

Amazing me. Amazing us. Growing together.

Hamish & Milo Foundation Programme Early Years Cover

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Looking for primary schools? Explore the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) and discover how Hamish & Milo supports a practical approach that fits your setting.