Pupil Premium Funding

What is the 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.

Is your child eligible?

Primary schools are given a pupil premium for:

Children in Reception to Year 6 who are currently entitled to free school meals based on their family income: £1345 per pupil, per school year

Children in Reception to Year 6 who were previously entitled to benefits-based free school meals, even if they're no longer eligible: £1345 per pupil, per school year, for six years after they stopped qualifying for free school meals

Children in care: £2345 per pupil, per school year

Children previously in care who have been adopted, or who have a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order: £2345 per pupil, per school year

Children recorded as being from service families: £310 per pupil, per school year

How to claim your child’s pupil premium

All children who currently qualify for free school meals based on their family circumstances are entitled to pupil premium. This applies if you receive any of the following benefits:

Universal credit (provided you have a net income of £7400 or less)

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

Children who are or have been in care, and children who have a parent who is or was in the armed forces, are also entitled to pupil premium.

In addition, pupils who have qualified for free school meals on the above grounds in the past, but are no longer eligible, continue to receive pupil premium for the next six years.

Schools are responsible for recording the children who are eligible for pupil premium in their annual school census - you don't have to do anything yourself, other than making sure you return any paperwork that relates to the benefits you receive or your child's entitlement to free school meals.

If your child qualifies for free school meals or has at any point in the past six years, it’s important that you tell us – even if they are in Reception or KS1 and receive universal school meals for infant pupils, or  take a packed lunch – as this enables us to claim pupil premium.  

To carry out a confidential check we will require the following information.

The name of the benefit claimant, their date of birth and national insurance number. 

How is it spent?

Schools can choose how to spend their pupil premium money, as they are best placed to identify what would be of most benefit to the children who are eligible.

At Holt Farm Infants we have used pupil premium funding for

Extra one-to-one or small-group support for children within the classroom.

Employing extra teaching assistants to work with classes.

Running a school breakfast club to improve attendance.

Giving children access to recorder lessons

Giving children access to after school clubs including sport clubs, craft & lego clubs

Providing tablet computers to support children accessing learning at home.

Free school milk.