Pupil Premium is a specific allocation of funds, additional to main school funding, which the Government believes is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals or children who are or have been in care, and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

The main barriers to educational achievement faced by eligible pupils include financial access to enhancement opportunities including visits and extra-curricular clubs and support for learning to keep them in line with their peers.  To address these barriers, spending of the pupil premium grant is divided between targeted teaching assistant support in class, learning interventions, subsidies to enhancement opportunities and further pastoral support.

Further information around the use and impact of pupil premium funding can be found below. This will also outline how funding is planned to be spent.

Are your children eligible for Pupil Premium Funding?

Pupil Premium money is used to directly fund additional teaching of individual pupils.  The criteria for funding are that parents must receive one of the following benefits:

• income support

• income based jobseeker’s allowance

• income related employment support allowance

• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• child tax credit, provided you are not entitled to working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190

• guarantee element of state pension credit