Pupil Premium
The government believes that the pupil premium, which is provided in addition to main funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between disadvantaged and their peers by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most and has provided Pupil Premium funding since April 2011. The government has allocated schools a sum of money which is called the ‘Pupil Premium’. This is to ensure that all pupils, from Reception through to Year 11, are given the same opportunities to achieve and so that no pupil is disadvantaged due to economic or social circumstances.
Free School Meals
Families who receive certain benefits may be eligible for free school meals. Your child is eligible for free school meals if you’re in receipt of one of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guarantee element of Pension Credit
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190
If you think your child may be eligible for a free school meal and you currently don’t claim, please could you complete the application form by clicking here:
You can apply for Free School Meals by completing the application form here.
If you have any queries about your potential eligibility, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Service Children
The Department for Education (DfE) introduced the Service pupil premium (SPP) in April 2011 in recognition of the specific challenges children from service families face and as part of the commitment to delivering the armed forces covenant.
State schools, academies and free schools in England, which have children of service families in school years reception to year 11, can receive the SPP funding. It is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these children may need and is currently worth £310 per service child (£320 for 2022-2023) who meets the eligibility criteria.
Eligibility criteria
Pupils attract SPP if they meet one of the following criteria:
- one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full time reserve service)
- they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on a school census since 2016, see note on the DfE’s ever 6 service child measure
- one of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
Children have to be flagged as service children ahead of the autumn school census deadline. Service parents need to make the school aware of their status by talking to the head teacher or school admin staff.
If your child has a parent who is serving in the HM Forces, please contact us.