In April 2011 the Government introduced the Pupil Premium. This is funding allocated to schools which is additional to main school funding. Essentially, this supplementary funding was designed to narrow the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged families and their peers, where this exists. Schools are given the independence to target these additional funds in order to meet the pupils at risk of underachieving based on their circumstances.
'It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium allocated to schools per Free School Meal pupil is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils with their responsibility.'
DfE Website
In addition to spending the money on pupils entitled to free school meals, the Pupil Premium this year will be used to meet the needs of groups of the most vulnerable learners throughout the school. There are many different factors that are incorporated into identifying the pupils in need of the greatest amount of support in the realms of narrowing the gap. These factors include:
- Pupils identified as having a special educational need
- Pupils subject to the Common Assessment Framework
- Pupils that are the subject of a Child Protection or Safeguarding order
- Pupil who are not making the progress that the school believe that they are capable of achieving
Please click on the useful links below which explain in detail what pupil premium is.....
www.theschoolrun.com/the-parents-guide-to-the-pupil-premium
www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium