What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to improve the achievement of pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as “Ever 6”). Schools also receive funding for children who have been “looked after” continuously for more than six months, and children of service personnel. These children are now classified as “disadvantaged”.

 

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 by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches pupils who need it most.

 

Who decides how the money is spent?

In most cases the Pupil Premium is paid directly to schools, allocated to them for every pupil who receives free school meals. Schools decide how to use the funding, as they are the best placed to assess what their pupils need.

 

How are Schools accountable for the spending of Pupil Premium?

Ofsted stated in their report Pupil Premium Update 2014. That “Routinely, good and outstanding schools demonstrate unwavering commitment to closing the attainment gap. They target interventions forensically and have robust tracking systems in place to establish what is making a difference and what is not”. School leaders must make sure that eligible pupils make faster progress than non-eligible pupils”. It is our responsibility to make a difference!

We are also mindful that the report states that the school should never confuse pupil premium funding with low ability and must support pupils of all levels of ability to achieve the highest levels.
 

Villiers ensures class teachers, phase leaders and subject leaders know which pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium so they can take responsibility for accelerating progress and accountability is shared across the school.