Pupil Premium

Publicly-funded schools in England get extra funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:

• generally face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
• often do not perform as well as their peers

The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve.

Eligibility and funding

Schools get pupil premium funding based on the number of pupils they have in January each year from the following groups.

The amount of funding for pupils who are eligible for Free School meals or who have been eligible in the past 6 years is £1515.

The amount of funding that school receives for children who are looked after by the Local authority or who have previously been looked after is £2630.

Service premium

The service premium is not part of the pupil premium as the rules to attract the service premium are different.

Schools get £350 for every pupil with a parent who:

• is serving in HM Forces
• has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence.

This funding is to help with pastoral support.

The new service premium rate will be £350 per head rising to £360 for 2026/27.

Academically able pupils

The pupil premium is not based on ability.

Research shows that the most academically able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of under-performing. Schools should focus on these pupils just as much as pupils with low results.