What is the Pupil Premium Grant?

The Pupil Premium Grant was introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children and to ensure any gap between them and their non PP peers is diminishing.

This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers. Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, less family support, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates. Where children are performing well, it can also be used to enhance the provision, offering them additional opportunities beyond the curriculum to ensure they reach their potential as well as paying for clubs, trips and residential.

How is it spent?

In addition to children receiving Free School Meals, schools can choose how to spend their Pupil Premium money, as they are best placed to identify what would be of most benefit to the children who are eligible.

Common ways in which schools spend their pupil premium fund include:

• Extra one-to-one or small-group support for children within the classroom.
• Employing extra teaching assistants to work with classes.
• Running an academic breakfast club session before school, for example for children who need extra help with maths or literacy.
• Paying for attendance at a school breakfast club to improve attendance.
• Providing extra tuition/learning opportunities for most able children who receive the pupil premium, for example in preparation for SATs.
• Providing music lessons for children whose families would be unable to pay for them.
• Funding educational trips and visits.
• Paying for additional help such as Targeted Mental Health Service, Emotional Literacy Support Assistant work or support through our Family School Link Workers

At some point, all of the children in a class will benefit from how the school spends its Pupil Premium: for example, if the money is used to fund an additional teaching assistant who works across the whole class, rather than providing one-to-one support or a visiting theatre company that works with the whole class.

Can you influence how the Pupil Premium is used?

There is no obligation for the school to consult you about how they use the money they claim for your child, although at Lawn Primary school we welcome parents involvement and invite you to contact us should you wish to discuss how the funding allocated benefits your child.