Pupil Premium Funding
Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils. It is paid on the basis of the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years, pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care, children who are looked after by the local authority and children of service families on the school roll.
School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium.
Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across three areas, with a particular focus on teaching.
1. Teaching
Investing in high-quality teaching, for example:
- training and professional development for teachers
- recruitment and retention
- support for teachers early in their careers
2. Targeted academic support
Additional support for some pupils focussed on their specific needs, for example:
- one-to-one tuition
- small group tuition
- speech and language therapy
3. Wider approaches
Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges. For example:
- school breakfast clubs
- counselling to support emotional health and wellbeing
- help with the cost of educational trips or visits
The aims include
- To increase social mobility
- To enable more children from disadvantaged backgrounds to get to top universities
- To reduce the attainment gap between the highest and lowest achieving pupils nationally
Pupil premium funding is used to fulfil our vision and aims for all children and to provide additional help and support for those children and families who may at times need something over and above the good provision we consistently provide.