What is Pupil Premium?

Disadvantaged Pupils

The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. The Pupil Premium Grant is a significant amount of money for many schools, with schools attracting £2,690 per 'looked-after child' or £1,550 per child who has been able to access free school meals within the last 6 years.

Pupils from Service Families

Pupils from Service families also attract Pupil Premium funding at the level of £360 per child. This money is to be used to support pupils’ pastoral needs, for example during times of parental deployment or during a move to, or away from, our school.

Free School Meals expansion on pupil premium

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, the Department for Education (DfE) is delivering an expansion to FSM eligibility to include all pupils from households in receipt of Universal Credit. There will then be 2 categories of FSM:

• Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing £7,400 income threshold
• Expanded FSM, which will apply to meals only, covering pupils who do not qualify for Targeted FSM, but who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit

Following the expansion of FSM, only pupils eligible for Targeted FSM will be part of the Ever 6 FSM cohort. This means that pupils who become eligible for FSM for the first time through the new Expanded FSM category will not attract pupil premium funding.

Pupils who were eligible for FSM before the expansion will continue to be part of the Ever 6 FSM cohort after the expansion. That includes any pupil whose household income increases after the expansion, such that they either lose FSM eligibility altogether or become eligible for FSM through Expanded FSM. Such pupils will remain part of the Ever 6 FSM cohort for 6 years.

Further information is available on the expansion of free school meals eligibility.

Accountability

Schools must show how they are using their pupil premium effectively:

• by publishing a statement on their website each academic year using the DfE template
• through inspections by Ofsted - inspectors may discuss plans schools have to spend their pupil premium
• through scrutiny of pupil premium plans by governors and trustees

Ofsted’s framework for inspecting local authority children’s services requires inspectors to ask for the virtual school annual report. This report should include details of how the VSH has managed the pupil premium for looked-after children.

Schools are also held to account for the outcomes achieved by their disadvantaged pupils through published performance tables.

Please find below the information about Pupil Premium relating to our school

The funding is designed to support the progress of pupils who are in receipt of or have been in receipt of Free School Meals.

Looked After Pupils are also entitled to this funding.  Click on the link below for the DFE recommended template to show our intentions on how this money is spent during this financial year and its impact.