Pupil Premium at Inglehurst Infant School

Inglehurst Infant School is an inclusive school and we work hard to support all children no matter what their background.  We know that some children are, however, more vulnerable than others, or some may need greater support in order to help them to be successful in school.

What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools, so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils and diminish the difference between them and their peers.  The funding is allocated to schools for children from Reception to Year 11.  The Government gives schools pupil premium funding for:

• every child currently registered as eligible for free school meals

• all children eligible for free school meals at any point in the past 6 years

• children who are or have been looked after by the local authority

• children whose parents serve in the armed forces

The DFE States:

“The pupil premium is additional funding given to schools to improve the educational and personal outcomes for pupils who have been adopted from care, including (but not limited to) their attainment.  It is not intended that the additional funding should be used to back-fill the general school budget nor is it the policy intention that the funding should be used to support other groups of pupils, such as (for example) those with special educational needs or who are low attaining.”

The funding is not ring-fenced and is not for individual children – so the Department would not necessarily expect the school to spend £2,345 on every child adopted from care on roll at the school.  This is partially because a child may have left the school and new pupils may have joined, but also because a school is best placed to determine how the additional funding can be deployed to have the maximum impact.  For example, a school may decide to train their staff in recognising and responding to attachment-related issues; or that a particular adopted child needs tailored support that is in excess of the £2,345 the school has received.  Alternatively, they may decide that a whole class intervention is appropriate and that other pupils that attract the pupil premium will benefit from this, alongside other pupils who are not deemed to be disadvantaged.