This House of Commons Library Briefing Paper provides an overview of policy on the Pupil Premium since its introduction in 2011, including funding levels, eligibility criteria, and accountability.Jump to full report >>
Introduced in 2011 by the Coalition Government, the Pupil Premium is additional funding provided to publicly-funded schools in England schools with the aim of raising the attainment of disadvantaged children. In 2017-18, £2.4 billion of Pupil Premium funding was allocated in respect of around 2 million pupils, with the following pupils attracting funding:
The £2.4 billion also includes a Service Premium of £300, which is paid in respect of pupils who have had a parent in the regular armed forces at any point since January 2012 (referred to as Ever 6 service children), or who are in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme after their parent died while serving the armed forces.
Local authority maintained schools are required to publish a strategy for using Pupil Premium funding on their websites. There is no parallel obligation on academies unless provided for in their funding agreement, which largely depends on when the academy opened. The Department for Education recommends, however, that academies should publish a Pupil Premium strategy regardless of whether this is required by their funding agreement.
Schools are also accountable for their use of Pupil Premium funding via the performance tables, which report on the performance of disadvantaged pupils compared to other pupils, and through Ofsted inspections, which report on the attainment and progress of pupils who attract the Pupil Premium.
The Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 committed to protect the Pupil Premium “at current rates” during the Spending Review Period (up to 2020).
The Pupil Premium Grant is paid as a separate grant to the Dedicated Schools Grant (the main source of revenue funding for schools). As such, it is for the most part unaffected by the introduction of a National Funding Formula for schools. However, the National Funding Formula will not include a looked-after-children factor; instead, all school funding for looked-after and previously looked-after children will be targeted through the Pupil Premium Plus. As a result of the change, the Pupil Premium Plus rate will increase to £2,300 per eligible pupil from 2018-19.
To be eligible for FSMs a child or their parent/carer must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. Universal Credit, which is being gradually rolled out across Great Britain, replaces many of these benefits, and some other benefits that are not qualifying benefits for FSMs, with a single payment. Consequently, once roll-out is complete, the majority of the current criteria for determining entitlement for FSMs, and with it eligibility for the Pupil Premium, will no longer exist. In light of this, in November 2017 the Government published a consultation in which it proposed introducing a net earnings threshold for a household’s eligibility for FSMs from April 2018. The consultation closes in January 2018.
Commons Briefing papers SN06700
Authors: Robert Long; David Foster