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 eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM).

Pupil Premium funding is allocated to schools and is clearly identifiable. 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.

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. However, they will be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families.

Catch Up Funding

The government provided funding to cover a one-off universal catch-up premium for the 2020/2021 academic year. It aims to support pupils to catch up for lost learning caused by the pandemic.