Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium funding?

Your child may be entitled to Pupil Premium funding, and it's the school's responsibility to identify the most beneficial way to spend it. The funding is intended to improve outcomes for those children eligible for it, and 

Pupil Premium funding is a sum of money given to schools each year to help improve the attainment of disadvantaged children. Research shows that children from low-income families perform less well at school than their peers, so the funding is intended to help narrow the gap. 

Pupil Premium isn't a personal budget for individual children, and schools aren't required to spend all of the allocated grant on eligible pupils. It isn't linked to special educational needs or disability (SEND).

Where a child is eligible and also has SEN, schools should ensure that Pupil Premium is taken into consideration when planning support and provision to meet your child’s special educational needs.

Who is entitled to it?

The following children are entitled to Pupil Premium:

  • Children who are currently entitled to free school meals based on their family income: £1385 per pupil, per school year
  • Children who were previously entitled to benefits-based free school meals, even if they're no longer eligible: £1385 per pupil, per school year, for six years after they stopped qualifying for free school meals
  • Children in care: £2410 per pupil, per school year
  • Children previously in care who have been adopted, or who have a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order: £2410 per pupil, per school year
  • Children whose parent is serving in HM Forces or has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence: £320 per pupil, per school year

A child is eligible for free school meals based on their family circumstances, and eligibility applies if you receive any of the following benefits:

  • Universal credit (provided you have a net income of £7400 or less)
  • Income support
  • Income-based jobseekers’ allowance
  • Income-related employment and support allowance
  • Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guaranteed element of state pension credit
  • Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less

How is it spent?

Your child's school is responsible for choosing how to spend Pupil Premium funding, as they're best placed to identify what would be of most benefit.

Evidence suggests that Pupil Premium spending is most effective when used across three areas:

  1. High-quality teaching, such as staff professional development.
  2. Targeted academic support, such as tutoring.
  3. Wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) recommend that schools particularly target spending on supporting high-quality teaching.

Here are some examples of how a school may choose to use the funding:

  • Extra one-to-one or small-group support within the classroom
  • Employing extra teaching assistants to work with classes
  • Running catch-up sessions before or after school, for example for children who need extra help with maths or literacy
  • Running a school breakfast club to improve attendance
  • Providing extra tuition for able children
  • Providing music lessons for children whose families would be unable to pay for them
  • Funding educational trips and visits
  • Paying for additional help such as speech and language therapy or family therapy
  • Funding English classes for children who speak another language at home
  • Investing in resources that boost children’s learning, such as laptops or tablets

There's no obligation for your child's school to consult with you about how they use the money they claim for your child, although some schools may choose to involve parents.

Pupil Premium is not a personal budget for individual children, and schools aren't required to spend all of the allocated grant on eligible children.

Schools are responsible for recording the children who are eligible in their annual school census - you don't have to do anything yourself, other than making sure you return any paperwork that relates to the benefits you receive or your child's entitlement to free school meals.

If your child qualifies for free school meals or has at any point in the past six years, it’s important that you tell their school, even if they're in reception or KS1 and receive universal school meals for infant pupils, or are in KS2 and take a packed lunch. This enables them to claim Pupil Premium.

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