Pupil Premium

You can find out more about the Pupil Premium allocation on the Department for Education’s website here.

Key Principles

The Pupil Premium (PP) is additional funding allocated to schools based on the number of students who have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point over the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’). The Pupil Premium is aimed at addressing the current underlying inequalities which exist between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. The Pupil Premium was initially introduced in April 2011.

As just under half of the pupils in the Academy are covered by this (47%) there are some large-scale interventions and principles as well as targeted support.

The key principles for the use of our Pupil Premium funding are addressing individual need and equality of opportunity, so that all students, regardless of need, background, or starting points, are provided with strong academic support, pastoral care, and enrichment.  All students should have the chance to achieve, have aspirations and ambitions, and develop key life skills that will not only allow them to thrive in the Academy but also in their post-16 pathways.

The Academy organises its plans using the tiered menu of approaches and follows the following guidelines:

Pupil premium – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)

Funding for financial year 2023-24

Schools will receive the following funding for each pupil registered as eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years:

  • £1,035 for pupils in year 7 to year 11
  • £2,530 for any pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care

The funding for pupils who are looked after by a local authority, and attract the £2,410 rate, is managed by the virtual school head of the local authority that looks after the pupil.

Free School Meals eligibility

Your child may be able to receive free school meals if you are eligible for any of the following:

  • 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 Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Service pupil premium (SPP)

Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools, but it is not based on disadvantage.

Schools receive £335 in 2023 to 2024 for every pupil with a parent who:

  • is serving in HM Forces
  • has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence

This funding is primarily intended to help with pastoral support – for example having sufficient capacity to support a child who may be experiencing a challenging period linked to a  relative’s deployment. It may also be used to help improve the progress of eligible pupils if schools deem this to be a specific need. The funding a school receives for each service child does not go directly to the individual child, but will be used to support all service children at the school.

Supporting Documents

Motif

Free School Meals

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