The Pupil Premium is a funding initiative designed to provide additional financial support to schools for children from low-income or disadvantaged families. It targets children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings, as well as children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months. Research has shown that disadvantaged children across the UK are less likely to achieve the expected academic levels at ages 5, 7, and 11.

Purpose and Flexibility of the Pupil Premium

Schools have flexibility in how they use Pupil Premium funding to support various groups of vulnerable pupils, including those from low-income families, children adopted from care, and children from service families. Schools are held accountable for how they spend this funding and are required to report on its use, ensuring transparency and accountability. Since September 2012, schools have been required to publish this information online so that all stakeholders can view the progress of pupils receiving support and understand the specific assistance provided.

Allocation of Pupil Premium Funding

Each year, the school receives funding based on the number of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium. This funding is primarily used to support:

• Small group work

• Focus groups to accelerate learning for vulnerable pupils

• One-to-one support, where necessary, based on individual needs
   

Additional Support and Resources

In our school, the Pupil Premium is also used to:

• Purchase additional resources to aid the learning of disadvantaged children

• Cover the cost of school trips and extracurricular activities, ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent participation

Additionally, our Home School Link Worker is available two days a week to offer support to both parents and children.

For more details on how we plan to allocate funding this year and the impact of previous support, please refer to the documents below.

Further information from the DfE can be found here: