Purpose
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 peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.
The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’).
Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months, and children of service personnel.
Accountability
The Government believes that head teachers and school leaders should decide how to use the Pupil Premium. They are held accountable for the decisions they make through:
- the performance tables which show the performance of disadvantaged pupils compared with their peers
- the new Ofsted inspection framework, under which inspectors focus on the attainment of pupil groups, in particular those who attract the Pupil Premium
- the new reports for parents that schools now have to publish online
Funding
In most cases the Pupil Premium is paid direct to schools allocated to them for every pupil who receives free school meals. Schools decide how to use the funding as they are best placed to assess what additional provision their pupils need.
Schools are currently given Pupil Premium funding of £1,345 per pupil for those whose families who have registered for FSM and £995 per pupil for each Ever 6 FSM. The children of members of the armed forces are also entitled to this funding and receive £310 service premium per pupil. In addition, schools receive £2,345 for each pupil who are looked after or have been adopted from care.
Key Stage 1 and Free School Meals
Since September 2014 all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have automatically been entitled to a free school lunch. However, registering for free meals could raise an extra £1,345 for the school to provide equipment, resources and activities to the benefit all children. These funds enable our school to take on additional staff and invest in additional support.
