Pupil Premium Funding
Sometimes children may need extra help or support in order to achieve this and the Pupil Premium is one of a number of ways in which pupils may be supported.
The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers. The grant is paid directly to schools in addition to standard funding. The amount received by a school is calculated from the number of pupils who are eligible in the following categories:
Entitlement to Free School Meals (at any time in the last 6 years)
Children who have ever been in the care of the Local Authority
Children of active Service personnel.
Schools decide how to spend the money, as they are best placed to identify those at risk of underachievement and assess what additional provision should be made for all pupils. It is recognised that not all disadvantaged pupils will necessarily qualify for the premium and that not all those who qualify are necessarily in need of additional provision. The governing body monitors the use and impact of its Pupil Premium Funding. Schools are also required to report online how the funding has been used and the impact of the additional provision on the achievement of pupils covered by the Pupil Premium.
The amount a school receives is calculated from census data in January of each year and included in the next financial year’s school budget. It is used by the school for the following academic year and the use and impact is reported at the end of the academic year once all school data is finalised. This means that there may be movement of pupils in and out of the school during the time between the original allocation and its use, so the use may be adapted to reflect the changing needs of pupils.
Pupil Premium Allocation 2019/20
In the 2017 to 2019 financial year, schools received the following funding for each pupil registered as eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years:
£1,320 for pupils in reception to year 6
£1, 900 for any pupils who have ever been in the care of the local authority
£300 for any pupil recorded as a service child on January 2017 census