Pupil Premium

The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds; and/or those eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

Who decides on how the money is spent?

In most cases the Pupil Premium is paid direct to schools, allocated to them for every pupil who receives free school meals. Schools decide how to use the funding, as they are best placed to assess what their pupils need.

How are schools accountable for the spending of Pupil Premium?

They are held accountable for the decisions they make through:

•  The performance tables which show the performance of disadvantaged pupils compared with their peers.
•  The new Ofsted inspection framework, under which inspectors focus on the attainment of pupil groups, in particular those who attract the Pupil Premium.
• Allocating a lead teacher for the responsibility of Pupil Premium provision