The Pupil Premium
We measure the effectiveness of our interventions on whole school attendance and reducing the number of persistent absentee pupils. We specialise in Improving school attendance of key cohorts such as Pupil Premium.
What is the Pupil Premium?
The pupil premium is funding allocated to schools for the specific purpose of boosting the attainment of pupils from low-income families. Funding is based on children who have registered for a free school meal at any point in the last 6 years, children that are in care or adopted and children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces.
Why has it been introduced?
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 disadvantaged children and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most. Whilst schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit we are required to publish online information about how we have used the Premium and the impact it is having.
Pupils who qualify for pupil premium are:
- eligible for free school meals or have been eligible in the previous six years
- children who have been looked after, or are covered by a guardianship or residency order
- have been adopted from care
- have a parent serving in the armed forces
Accountability for Ofsted
For many schools, because of the area they serve, pupil premium spending forms a sizeable chunk of the overall school budget. Schools are held accountable for how they spend their funding, partly through the Ofsted inspection process. Although inspectors won’t judge a school on how it spends the funding, it will want to see that the money is being used on strategies and initiatives that are effective, and that the school’s leadership is monitoring and managing this spending well.