What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium was introduced by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2011, as additional funding for pupils who receive Free School Meals and who are Looked After Children. This is because the DfE have recognised that good education is the key to improving young people’s life chances. This is particularly true for children from low-income families, or who are Looked After Children, who are far less likely to leave schools with good GCSE results than other children. The Pupil Premium, using additional resources from outside the School’s Budget, is intended to address the current inequalities by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most. The DfE have stated that schools have the right to spend this funding as they see fit based upon their knowledge of pupil needs.

“Schools, headteachers and teachers will decide how to use the Pupil Premium allocation, as they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for individual pupils.”

Source DfE website

If your child is eligible for Free School Meals or is an infant child and part of the Universal Free School Meals, it is worth registering them, even if they are not going to have a school lunch.  It will have a direct impact on the funding the school receives and we will maximise the support we can provide.

Parents can register their child for Free School Meals if they are in receipt of any of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit, provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income, as assessed by HM Revenue and Customs, that does not exceed £16,190
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit.