Pupil Premium Funding (Information from the DfE website)
Publicly-funded schools in England get extra funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.
Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:
- generally face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
- often do not perform as well as their peers
The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve.
Eligibility and Funding
Schools get pupil premium funding based on the number of eligible pupils they have from the following groups.
Free School Meals
Schools get £1,345 for every primary age pupil and £955 for every secondary age pupil who claims free school meals or who has claimed free school meals in the last 6 years.
Looked-after and Previously Looked-after Children
Schools get £2,345 for every pupil who has left local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child arrangements order.
Local authorities get the same amount for each child they are looking after; they must work with the school to decide how the money is used to support the child’s personal education plan.
Service Premium
Schools get £310 for every pupil with a parent who:
- is serving in HM Forces
- has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence
This funding is to help with pastoral support.
Academically Able Pupils
The pupil premium is not based on ability.
Research shows that the most academically able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of under-performing. Schools should focus on these pupils just as much as pupils with low results.
Use of the Pupil Premium
School leaders are best-placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use funding to improve attainment. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium.
Tiered Approach
Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across the following 3 areas below but focusing on teaching quality – investing in learning and development for teachers.
Teaching
Schools arrange training and professional development for all their staff to improve the impact of teaching and learning for pupils.
Academic Support
Schools should decide on the main issues stopping their pupils from succeeding at school and use the pupil premium to buy extra help.
Wider Approaches
This may include non-academic use of the pupil premium such as:
- school breakfast clubs
- music lessons for disadvantaged pupils
- help with the cost of educational trips or visits
- speech and language therapy
Schools may find using the pupil premium in this way helps to:
- increase pupils’ confidence and resilience
- encourage pupils to be more aspirational
- benefit non-eligible pupils
Non-eligible Pupils
Schools can spend their pupil premium on pupils who do not meet the eligibility criteria but need extra support.
Schools can use the pupil premium to support other pupils, for example, if they:
- are in contact with a social worker
- used to be in contact with a social worker
- are acting as a carer
Accountability
Schools must show how they’re using their pupil premium effectively:
- by publishing an online statement
- through inspections by OfSTED
- through published performance tables