Pupil Premium

What is a Pupil Premium Grant?

A pupil premium grant is additional funding the Government supply to schools to provide additional funding to support schools in raising attainment for those children who are eligible for free school meals, or who are in the care of the local authority.

The pupil premium grant was introduced in April 2011 after it was recognised that, in general, these groups have lower attainment than those from less disadvantaged backgrounds. Schools are free to spend the pupil premium grant as they see fit to support targeted pupils. A school’s pupil premium grant will benefit pupils from those vulnerable groups either directly or indirectly.

Use of the Pupil Premium Funding paid to schools

School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium.

Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across 3 areas, with a particular focus on teaching.

1. Teaching

Investing in high-quality teaching, for example:

• training and professional development for teachers
• recruitment and retention
• support for teachers early in their careers

2.Targeted academic support

Additional support for some pupils focussed on their specific needs, for example:

• one-to-one tuition
• small group tuition
• speech and language therapy

3. Wider approaches

Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges.

Funding paid to local authorities for looked after children

Virtual School Heads are responsible for managing the funding given to local authorities for the children in their care. They work with schools to ensure the funding is used to help deliver the outcomes identified in the children’s personal education plans.

They can pass all of the funding on to schools or retain some to fund activities that will benefit a group, or all, of the authority’s looked after children.

Non-eligible pupils

Schools do not have to spend pupil premium so it solely benefits eligible pupils

They can use it wherever they identify the greatest need. For example, they might spend it on pupils who do not get free school meals but:

• have or have had a social worker
• act as a carer

Using pupil premium funding to improve teaching quality is the most effective way to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. By doing so, schools will inevitably benefit non-eligible pupils as well.

Academically able pupils

Pupil premium funding is not allocated based on academic ability. Schools and local authorities will receive funding based on all of the children who are eligible.

Evidence shows that academically able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of under-performing. These pupils should receive just as much focus as less academically able pupils.

If you require a paper copy of any of the documents on our website, please contact the school office.