This service was developed to support the Department for Education’s ambition of having a qualified Early Years Teacher in every nursery across England. As part of this aim, it provides a recognition payment for eligible Early Years Teachers, acknowledging their contribution to the sector and supporting retention. The service offers a way for teachers to check their eligibility, submit the required information, and receive their payment.
This post introduces the service, the users we’re designing for and some of the work we’ve completed so far.
Understanding our users
Early years teachers work in a wide range of settings, from small independent nurseries to large nursery groups and charitable organisations.
Through discovery and alpha, we spoke to teachers and managers working across different parts of the sector. We found a wide range of experiences, levels of digital confidence and familiarity with government services.
Some users were confident completing online forms and already had the information they needed to hand. Others required support recovering details, such as their Teacher Reference Number (TRN), which many did not use regularly and were unfamiliar with locating. Users also needed help understanding whether they were eligible for the payment.
This highlighted the importance of designing a service that works for both confident and less confident digital users.
Designing a simple claim journey
One of our main goals has been to reduce the effort required to make a claim by removing unnecessary barriers from the process. A simpler user journey makes it easier for eligible teachers to access the payment and reinforces the service's role in recognising their valuable contribution.
Throughout alpha, we tested different approaches with users and iterated the service based on their feedback. This included improving guidance, simplifying evidence requirements and helping users understand key eligibility criteria earlier in the journey.
Designing with operational colleagues
The service doesn’t end when a user submits a claim.
We have also worked closely with operational colleagues responsible for assessing and processing applications. Through co-design sessions, we explored how claims are reviewed and what information caseworkers need to make decisions efficiently.
This has helped us design a service that works for both the people making claims and the teams processing them.
Preparing for private beta
Following our alpha assessment, we carried out additional rounds of user research and design iteration to prepare the service for private beta.
This work helped us identify opportunities to reduce friction in the claim journey, build trust when asking users for personal information and improve how employment evidence is collected and assessed.
As the service moves into private beta, we’ll continue to learn from users, monitor service performance and iterate based on evidence.
We’ll use this design history to document significant decisions, share what we’ve learned and explain how the service evolves over time.