What is the Pupil Premium Grant?
Did you know that if your child is eligible for income related free school meals, they may also be entitled to a sum of money paid to their school to boost their learning? If your child qualifies for income related free school meals, it’s important that you tell school – even if they choose a packed lunch – as this enables them to claim the pupil premium grant.
The Pupil Premium Grant, introduced by the government in April 2011, is additional funding given to schools so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils, by raising the attainment of pupils eligible for the grant, and closing the attainment gap between them and their peers. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible.
Pupil Premium is primarily aimed at Reception to Year 11 children who are from low income families and are eligible for income related free school meals (FSM).
The funding also covers looked after children (LAC) and children in care aged 4-15 who have been looked after for more than 6 months. A service premium has also been introduced for children whose parents are serving in the armed forces.
Pupil Premium is allocated to schools and is clearly identifiable. It is schools responsibility to decide how the Pupil Premium is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for individual children. It is not ring-fenced and schools are free to spend it as they wish, however schools will be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support children from disadvantaged families.
Schools are given a pupil premium for:
- Children who have qualified for free school meals at any point in the past six years. The school receives £1300 for each of these children.
- Children who have been looked after under local authority care for more than one day. These children are awarded a premium of £1900.
Often, all of the children in a class will reap some benefit from how the school spends its pupil premium: for example, if the money is used to fund an additional teaching assistant who works across the whole class, rather than providing one-to-one support. But research shows that the fund does help to narrow gaps between disadvantaged children and their peers, particularly in English and maths.
Your child may be eligible for income related free school meals – and accordingly pupil premium – if you are in receipt any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided they’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Universal Credit
Please contact school for details should you wish to register your child as eligible or you can download the forms below and return them to school or the local authority. Please do not hesitate to ask if you need assistance.
Early Years Pupil Premium
The early years pupil premium (EYPP) is additional funding for early years settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds. Early years providers are any organisation offering education for children aged under 5, including nurseries and childminders.
Eligibility
3- and 4-year-olds in state-funded early education will attract EYPP funding if their family is in receipt of at least 1 of the following criteria:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided they’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Universal Credit
- They are currently being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales
They (the child) left care in England or Wales through:
- an adoption
- a special guardianship order
- a child arrangement order
The school receives approximately £300 for each child who is eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium. It is the school’s responsibility to decide how this money is spent, in order to start to reduce the gaps between some disadvantaged children and their peers.