Pupil Premium is now an essential part of our funding and is additional funding on top of the main funding our school receives. It is targeted at children from low-income families to ensure that they benefit from the same opportunities as children from higher-income families. This funding used to be determined by the number of children receiving free school meals but now as all children in our school are provided with this, it is not as easy for us to find out those children entitled to the extra support. If you are on a low income our school can receive extra money each year to help us to help your child do better at school. In order for us to claim this funding you need to be in receipt of one of the following benefits:
- receiving income support/income-based job seekers allowance or income-related employment and support allowance;
- entitled to child tax credit but not receiving working tax credit and your annual income must be below the threshold set by the government;
- receiving support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
- receiving the guaranteed credit element of pension credit;
- entitled to the 4-week run of working tax credit due to employment ending
- receiving Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
Service Children, Looked after children and pupils adopted from care are also entitled to the Pupil Premium Grant.
If you are on one of these benefits you can check if your child is eligible using the ERYC eligibility checker.
The funding is calculated using the January census figures for children registered as eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) in Reception to Year 2. Nationally, pupils who receive Free School Meals underperform in comparison to those children who do not and Pupil Premium funding is therefore allocated to this vulnerable group of pupils in order to close the attainment gap.
Regulations require all schools to publish on their school website the amount allocated for Pupil Premium in respect of the current financial year, details of how it is intended to be spent, how the previous academic year’s allocation was spent, and the impact of this expenditure on the educational attainment of the identified group of pupils. This is monitored by the headteacher and by school governors.
The current allocation is £1,320 per child; £300 for Service children; or £1,900 for Looked-After children. Funding is paid directly to schools for schools to use. Parents and guardians need to self-declare their child’s status to the school where their child is on roll. Funding is not ring-fenced and schools can pool Pupil Premium money for numerous children to pay for collective support to gain maximum impact from the funding.
The Governors review the PP strategy at their Autumn meeting each year and receive regular updates as part of the Head Teachers report.
School support for pupils who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding
Pupils are eligible for the pupil premium grant are entitled to additional support from the school including free school trips, a uniform grant and free after-school clubs. Please contact the school office for more information.