Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium grant is allocated to schools from the Department for Education (DfE) to help pupils from the most deprived backgrounds achieve their full potential.

The Government believes that the Pupil Premium funding, 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. In most cases the Pupil Premium funding is allocated to schools and is clearly identifiable. It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium funding, 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.

Pupils who are entitled to free school meals include those looked after by the Local Authority and children of armed service personnel. The intended effect of this funding is to accelerate progress and to raise attainment.

In order to ensure proper accountability, schools are required to report on:

• the amount of funding received;
• how this is being used;
• the impact of any work done.