Pupil Premium
The Government believes that the Pupil Premium funding, which is additional to the main school funding, is the best way to address inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and those children who are not. Pupil Premium Funding is used to tackle disadvantage in order to reach the pupils who need it most.
Schools are currently given Pupil Premium funding of £1,320 per pupil for those whose families who have registered for FSM. This includes any child who has been registered for FSM at any point during the past 6 years. The children of members of the armed forces are also entitled to £300 of Pupil Premium funding. Schools also receive £2,300 for each pupil who has been looked after for 1 day or more; has been adopted from care or has left care under a special guardianship order, a residence order or a child arrangement order.
The money is given to schools to support them in enabling all pupils to reach or exceed the nationally expected level for their age. Each school may decide how best to use the funding and they are held accountable for how it has been used to support pupils from low income families.