What is the Pupil Premium? The National Picture

The Pupil Premium was introduced by the Government in April 2011. The Pupil Premium is funding provided to schools which is children who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) and those children in local authority care. These groups of children have been identified nationally as achieving at a lower level than children from less disadvantaged backgrounds.

Where does the money come from?

Pupil Premium is allocated to schools based on the number of children on-roll who are currently known to be eligible for Free School Meals, a smaller amount is allocated according to the number of children of service families and there is an allocation for each child who has been looked after in local authority care continuously for more than six months.  A premium has also been introduced for children whose parents are currently serving in the different Forces. Children entitled to Forces premium will not have priority on the admissions oversubscription criteria – only those entitled to Free Schools Meals will count at Pupil Premium in our criteria.

It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility. However, schools are to be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. As of September 2012, this information must be published on the school website.

In February 2021, the government announced a one-off recovery premium as part of its package of funding to support education recovery.

The recovery premium provides additional funding for state-funded schools in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. Building on the pupil premium, this funding will help schools to deliver evidence-based approaches for supporting disadvantaged pupils.

Statement of intent

At Robert Arkenstall we are committed to raising the achievement for ‘socially disadvantaged’  pupils and understand that many of these pupils must make accelerated progress to achieve this. All members of staff, governors and teaching assistants accept responsibility for these pupils and are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs within a caring environment. 

Research has found that disadvantaged pupils have been worst affected by partial school closures, and that the attainment gap has grown as a result of national lockdowns. The economic impact of Covid-19 has also led to higher numbers of pupils qualifying for pupil premium. It is therefore more important than ever that we focus on support for disadvantaged pupils.

We, as a school, are able to determine how best to use the Pupil Premium and Recovery Premium grant to support pupils and raise educational, social and emotional attainment through:

• Focusing resources, support and intervention to narrow the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils

• Ensuring gaps in knowledge are identified quickly and effectively targeted using quality first teaching and therapies

• Ensuring all pupils are exposed to a wide range of social/cultural and sporting experiences, increasing equity of opportunity for all pupils.

• Addressing pupils’ mental and emotional needs are met so they can access learning effectively

Our strategy is informed by key research including:

• EEF (Education Endowment Foundation)

• Fischer Family Trust

• Sutton Trust

• The National Literacy Trust

• University of Cambridge Primary School