The Pupil Premium grant is additional funding received by schools for each pupil from what the government considers to be disadvantaged families or background. It is allocated to schools based on the number of children who come from low-income families – this is defined as those who are currently known to be eligible for free school meals.
It also includes:
- pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years (FSM)
- children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months (LAC)
- children whose parents/carers are in the armed forces (AF)
The Government is not instructing schools on how they should spend this money. It is not ring-fenced and schools are ‘free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit’ (DfE 2011). The Government however is clear that schools will need to employ the strategies that they know will support these pupils to increase their attainment and that they will be accountable for ‘closing the gap’ in achievement for these pupils. The following web link provides more detailed information about the government’s initiative.
