Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.

The allocation is based on those pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years. It is also allocated to pupils from military backgrounds and Looked After Children.

In 2024-25 the allocation per pupil is £1480 for those entitled to free school meals and £340 per pupil from a military background. 

Use of Pupil Premium

School leaders can decide on which activity to spend their pupil premium (and recovery premium) within a framework. This can be found on page 7 of ‘Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders’.

Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when used across 3 areas:

1. high-quality teaching, such as staff professional development
2. targeted academic support, such as tutoring, 1:1 and small group support
3. wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools, such as attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional support

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) recommends that schools particularly focus their pupil premium on supporting high-quality teaching.

Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils, and schools are not required to spend all of their allocated grant on eligible pupils.

Pupil Premium Strategy

Pupil Premium Strategy 2022-25