Pupil Premium
Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.
In 2011-12 the Government launched its Pupil Premium funding. This money is sent to schools based on the number of pupils in the school who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM).
From 2012-13, it has been expanded to include all children who have been eligible for FSM within the last 6 years.
This money is allocated to initiatives to ensure pupils reach their full potential, both academically and socially.
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, less family support, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible by helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates.
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 have been looked after under local authority care for more than one day. These children are awarded a premium of £2410.
- Children in year groups reception to year 11 recorded as Ever 6 service child or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence.
Is my child eligible for PPI funding?
If you are unable to access the online application form we keep a very limited about of paper copies in the school office.
The local authority will inform you directly of the outcome and will contact the school on your behalf. If you wish them to, your child/ren will be able to have a free school meal from the date of eligibility, but you must let the school know in advance if you wish to take up this option.
From 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 have qualified for free meals under the above income-based criteria will receive the pupil premium.
Can parents influence how the Pupil Premium is used?
There is no obligation for schools to consult with parents about how they use the money they claim for each child. However, schools do have to show that they are using their pupil premium fund appropriately. This is measured through Ofsted inspections and annual performance tables showing the progress made by children who are eligible for pupil premium.
At Liberty, we publish details online, including how much money we have been allocated, how we intend to spend it, how we spent the previous year’s allocation and how it made a difference to the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. This can be found by clicking on the Pupil Premium Strategy document below.
How to claim your child’s Pupil Premium
Your child may be eligible for free school meals – and accordingly pupil premium – if you receive 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
- Universal credit
To find out if you are eligible for Free School Meals / Pupil Premium please click on the link below: