Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium
The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. In the financial year 2023-24, pupil premium spending will increase to almost £2.9 billion.
The DfE want to support all schools to use the wealth of evidence of ‘what works’, evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), to use this funding effectively. This provides a helpful evidence base and starting point for schools to decide how to target support with the best impact.
We work to a comprehensive strategy which determines what are the greatest challenges for this group of students and how we can best use resources to overcome those challenges. This is usually over a 3-year period, reviewed each year.
Here is a link to our current strategy
Pupil eligibility
The following groups are eligible for pupil premium:
- pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals, or have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years, including eligible children of families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
- children looked after by local authorities, referred to as looked-after children
- children previously looked after by a local authority or other state care, referred to as previously looked-after children
“It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.”
Source – DfE
Funding rates for financial year 2023-24
This table shows how the pupil premium grant is allocated to schools and local authorities in financial year 2023-24, based on per pupil rates.
| Pupil eligibility criteria | Amount of funding for each primary-aged pupil per year | Amount of funding for each secondary-aged pupil per year | Funding is paid to |
| Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years | £1,455 | £1,035 | School |
| Pupils previously looked after by a local authority or other state care | £2,530 | £2,530 | School |
| Children who are looked after by the local authority | £2,530 | £2,530 | Local authority |
Service pupil premium
Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools with pupils who have parents serving in the armed forces. It has been combined into pupil premium payments to make it easier for schools to manage their spending.
Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract the service pupil premium grant, at the rate of £335 per eligible pupil in financial year 2023-24, if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
- one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces, including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service – this includes pupils with a parent who is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England
- registered as a ‘service child’ on any school census in the past 6 years
- one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
This funding is primarily to enable schools to offer pastoral support and help mitigate the negative impact of family mobility or parental deployment. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if the school feel this is a priority.
Eligibility for free school meals
A parent or carer may wish to check their child’s eligibility for Pupil Premium or continued free school meals and HC3S (Hampshire Catering Service) has an online system for this.
You will need to enter your name, address, national insurance number or asylum support service number. In addition, you will need to provide your child’s name, date of birth, and identify the school they are attending.
Eligibility Criteria
Parents/guardians in England do not have to pay for school meals if they receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
- Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ – the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Pupil Premium is an important payment for schools and a really good opportunity for eligible parents to get even more support for their children in schools.
For more information about free meals in Hampshire, please contact HC3S on 023 8062 9388
If you think your child may possibly be eligible for free school meals, even if you don’t want your child to eat school meals, please call into the office to collect a claim form. Every child who is eligible generates valuable income for the school.
Period Poverty
You may be aware of recent projects introduced by the Government aimed at removing or reducing ‘Period Poverty’. The school has applied for, and has received, supplies of sanitary products in sufficient quantities to allow us to support the pupils. Therefore, a range of free supplies are available from us for any pupil in need. Requests will be handled carefully and sensitively. Pupils can either see their tutor or Mrs Gonga or Mrs Mell. Please don’t hesitate to email them if you prefer: [email protected] [email protected]
