Pupil Premium 

Introduction

The Government introduced funding called ‘Pupil Premium’ as a way of reducing the inequalities experienced by disadvantaged pupils up to the age of 16. Publicly-funded schools in England get extra funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:

• generally face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
• often do not perform as well as their peers

The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve.

This funding is given to schools based on the numbers of pupils in receipt of Free School Meals as entered into the school census. According to the Department of Education, “It’s up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium. This is because school leaders are best-placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use funding to improve attainment.”