Pupil Premium Update

Overarching Principles

The Government's introduction of the Pupil Premium is in complete accord with the school's mission statement " We educate our children in a Catholic community with Christ at the centre.’." It also re-inforces the Catholic Church's social teaching which implores us always to pursue the "preferential option for the poor" in practical ways. Consequently, all members of staff and governors accept responsibility for those pupils recognised as 'disadvantaged’ and are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs.

Every child who is considered to be ‘disadvantaged’ is valued, respected and entitled to develop to his/her full potential, irrespective of disadvantage.

•Our school will ensure that the Pupil Premium funding reaches the groups of pupils for whom it was intended and that it makes a significant impact on their education and lives.
•The Pupil Premium will be used to provide additional educational support to improve the progress and raise the achievement for these pupils.
•The funding will be used to narrow and close the gap between the achievement of these pupils and their peers.
•The school will use the additional funding to address any underlying inequalities between children eligible for Pupils Premium and others.

What is the Pupil Premium?

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.

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, 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.

Is your child eligible?

Primary schools are given a pupil premium for:

• Children in Reception to Year 6 who are, or have ever been, entitled to free school meals based on their family income: £1320 per pupil, per school year
• Children in care: £2300 per pupil, per school year
• Children previously in care who have been adopted, or who have a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order: £2300 per pupil, per school year
• Children recorded as being from service families: £300 per pupil, per school year
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How to claim your child’s pupil premium

Children qualify for free school meals – and accordingly pupil premium – if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Universal credit (provided you have a net income of £7400 or less)
• Income support
• Income-based jobseekers’ allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of state pension credit
• Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less

These benefits have now been rolled into a single benefit, called Universal Credit. 

Universal Credit is being rolled out, with an expected completion date of March 2022. All pupils who were eligible for free school meals up to April 2018 will continue to receive free school meals during this period.

Once Universal Credit is fully rolled out, any existing claimants who no longer meet the eligibility criteria will still qualify for free school meals until the end of their current stage of education (i.e. primary or secondary).

Children who are or have been in care, and children who have a parent who is or was in the armed forces, are also entitled to pupil premium.

Schools are responsible for recording the children who are eligible for pupil premium in their annual school census - you don't have to do anything yourself, other than making sure you return any paperwork that relates to the benefits you receive or your child's entitlement to free school meals.

If your child qualifies for free school meals, it’s important that you tell their school – even if they're in Reception or KS1 and receive universal school meals for infant pupils, or are in KS2 and take a packed lunch – as this enables them to claim pupil premium.