Pupil Premium
What is pupil premium?
Pupil premium is funding given to schools each year by the Government to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and therefore often do not perform as well as their peers. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates.
Who is eligible for pupil premium?
You can check for eligibility and apply for Free School Meals using the button below.
Ever 6 Free School Meals (FSM)
This is when a student has a historic FSM status. They will be classed as Ever 6 FSM for six years after their FSM eligibility end date. For example, if someone was FSM from 1st September 2018 until 31st October 2020, they will be Ever 6 FSM until 31st October 2026 (6 years after their FSM end date).
Looked-after and previously looked-after children
Service Premium – Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract service pupil premium funding if they meet one or more 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, and also pupils whose parent is serving in the armed forces of another nation and is formally stationed in England) – and they are recorded in the October school census as being a ‘service child’ they have previously been registered as a ‘service child’ in any school census in the last 6 years.
- One of their parents died while serving in the armed forces, and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme.
Secondary schools are given a pupil premium for:
- Children in Year 7 to Year 11 who are, or have ever been, entitled to free school meals based on their family income: £1,035 per pupil, per school year.
- Children in care: £2,530 per pupil, per school year.
- Children previously in care who have been adopted, or who have a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or a residence order: £2,530 per pupil, per school year.
- Children recorded as being from service families: £335 per pupil, per school year.
- How do you qualify for Pupil Premium?
- Children may qualify for free school meals, and therefore pupil premium, if their parents or guardians receive any of the following benefits:
- Universal credit (provided you have a net income of £7,400 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 (if you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less).
How is pupil premium used?
Schools can decide how to use their pupil premium. There are three main ways in which it can be used:
- High-quality teaching, such as staff professional development
- Targeted academic support, such as tutoring
- Wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools, such as attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional support.
Pupil premium at Beths
At Beths, we follow the Education Endowment Foundation’s recommendation to focus pupil premium on supporting high-quality teaching.
We aim to ensure that all students receive expert teaching and thus are enabled to access the highest quality of learning. Part of the strategy with pupil premium funding is to ensure that all students can take advantage of the opportunities available, and this includes a focus on experiences outside the classroom.
We ensure that all students, regardless of their position, experience a curricula and events that are targeted at growing their cultural and academic opportunities. Our aim is to ensure that pupil premium students have access to the full curriculum, can access extra-curricular provision, and achieve their potential. Therefore, we financially support students with educational trips and visits and can support students with music lessons – usually contributing 50% of the fees. We also offer bursaries in sixth form.
