Pupil Premium - What is it?
The Pupil Premium provides additional government funding on top of the main funding a school receives. It is targeted at pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as pupils from less deprived families. From September 2014, the premium will be worth £1,300 for primary-aged pupils and goes to pupils who at any point in the past six years have been in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM); with an additional £1,900 going to any pupil who has been continuously looked after for the past six months or who has been adopted from care under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or who has left care under a Special Guardianship or Residence Order. Finally £300 goes to pupils whose parent/parents are currently serving in the armed forces or are in receipt of a pension from the MoD.
How the Pupil Premium is spent is monitored closely with all schools being accountable for the impact of the money spent. At Rawdon St. Peter’s we pride out selves on utilising the Pupil Premium to support our pupils with a specific focus on raising standards in English and Maths, and also promoting pupils self-esteem through an extensive mentoring programme which aims to develop levels of engagement, and attendance, maximising the life opportunities for all pupils.
Why is there a pupil premium?
It is considered that pupils who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. Schools have been allocated additional Pupil Premium funding by the government to close this gap in the hope of raising attainment standards.
Claiming for FSM
In Leeds, when a Housing/Council Tax Benefit form is completed, this automatically entitles child(ren) in the family to receive free school meals. The Council inform the school of the child’s entitlement to free school meals.
Parents in receipt of Child Tax Credit are required to complete a free school meal application form, and it is vital that the application form is completed to allow additional funding to be released to the school.
How will the impact of the spending of the Pupil Premium be measured?
To monitor progress on attainment, new measures will be included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of pupils covered by the Pupil Premium. At Rawdon St. Peter’s, the usual cycle of assessment, monitoring and tracking of all children, including all vulnerable groups, enables the senior leadership team to identify any specific individual/group needs, so that support and appropriate intervention can be put into place promptly.