Information about Pupil Premium

Introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.

This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers. Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates.

The Secretary of State for Education lays down the following terms and conditions on which assistance is given in relation to the pupil premium grant (PPG) payable to schools and local authorities for the financial year beginning 1 April 2018. PPG provides funding for two policies:

• raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities to reach their potential
• supporting children and young people with parents in the regular armed forces

The grant may be spent in the following ways:

• for the purposes of the school; that is, for the educational benefit of pupils registered at that school
• for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools or academies
• on community facilities; for example, services whose provision furthers any charitable purpose for the benefit of pupils at the school or their families, or people who live or work in the locality in which the school is situated

The grant does not have to be completely spent by schools in the financial year; some or all of it may be carried forward to future financial years.

Is your child eligible?

Schools are given a pupil premium for:

• Children who have qualified for free school meals at any point in the past six years. The school receives £1385 for each of these children.
• Children who are or have been looked after under local authority care for more than one day. These children are awarded a premium of £2410.
• Children from service families who receive a child pension from the Ministry of Defence. They are awarded £320.

Prior to April 2018, children qualified for free school meals – and accordingly pupil premium – if you received any of the following benefits:

• Income support
• Income-based jobseekers’ allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of state pension credit
• Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less

These benefits have now been rolled into a single benefit, called Universal Credit. From April 2018, free school meals and pupil premium will only be allocated to pupils with a family income under £7400 (net) per year.

Since September 2014, all children in Reception and Years 1 and 2 have qualified for free school meals, regardless of their family income, but only the children who would qualify for free meals under the above income-based criteria will receive the pupil premium.

If your child qualifies for free school meals, it’s important that you tell their school – even if they take a packed lunch – as this enables them to claim pupil premium. Please visit https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/school-pupil-support/apply-free-school-meals