What is the Pupil Premium?  The National Picture

 The Pupil Premium was introduced by the Government in April 2011.  It was designed to give additional money to support schools in raising the attainment of children who receive free school meals and those children in local authority care. These groups of children have been identified nationally as achieving at a lower level than children from less disadvantaged backgrounds.  For example, national figures show that 11 year olds who are eligible for Free School Meals are around twice as likely not to achieve Age Related Expectations in maths and English as other 11 year olds.

Where does the money come from?

Pupil Premium is allocated to schools based on the number of children who are currently known to be eligible for Free School Meals and children who have been looked after in local authority care continuously for more than six months.

 The level of the Pupil Premium in 2011-12 was £488 per pupil. Since then it has increased to £1320 per pupil. The Government decided that eligibility for the Pupil Premium in 2012-13 would be extended to pupils who have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years.

The purpose of the Pupil Premium is to help schools to provide targeted support for vulnerable children- not necessarily just children who qualify for FSM.

 “It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.”    Source - DfE website

The funding is therefore given to schools to spend as they think best, although there is a requirement to publish online how this money is spent.  At Four Marks we follow some key principles in how we allocate and prioritise Pupil Premium spending:

Guiding Principles for how the money is spent:

• We ensure that teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all pupils.
• We ensure that appropriate provision is made for pupils who belong to all vulnerable groups, including the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils.
• In making provision for socially disadvantaged pupils, we recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged.
• We also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals. We reserve the right to allocate the Pupil Premium funding to support any pupil or groups of pupils the school has legitimately identified as being socially disadvantaged.
• Pupil Premium funding will be allocated based on need. Limited funding and resources means that not all children receiving free meals will be in receipt of pupil premium interventions at one time.

At Four Marks Primary School we have a comparatively  small proportion of children eligible for Pupil Premium Funding.

The school uses research and studies that look at high impact interventions and resources, linked to aspects of our school improvement plan,to target funding in a considered way. Some interventions have a proven track record of success in the school. Other interventions are researched to look at appropriateness and impact before a new  commitment is made. Some funding may be used to provide appropriate  enrichment experiences for children to boost self esteem and cultural capital, as well as achievement in specific areas.

If you think your child may possibly be eligible for free school meals, even if you don't want your child to eat school meals, please fill in a claim form below.  Every child who is eligible generates valuable income for the school.

www.hants.gov.uk/caterers/hc3s-freeschoolmeals

 For more details on the Pupil Premium please visit:

 http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium

Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.