Pupil Premium – What is it?

Introduced in April 2011, schools were allocated what is know as “Pupil Premium” funding for children from low-income families who were eligible for free school meals or had been looked after continuously for more than six months. From April 2012 the Pupil Premium was extended to include children who had been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

This is one of the reasons why it is essential that any pupil who qualifies for Free School Meals makes the fact known to school.

The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. However they will be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. New measures will be included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of those deprived pupils covered by the Pupil Premium.

You can read more about the Pupil Premium and its implications by following this link

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium/b0076063/pp