What is the Pupil Premium?

Introduced in 2011, the Pupil Premium Fund is a sum of money given to school each year by the Government to improve the attainment of the following children:

• Children in Reception to Year 6 who are currently entitled to free school meals based on their family income;
• Children in Reception to Year 6 who were previously entitled to free school meals, even if they are no longer eligible (this is known as Ever 6);
• Children Looked After;
• Children Previously Looked After whom have been adopted;
• Children recorded as being from service families.

Why is the Government providing the Pupil Premium Grant?

The government believe that Pupil Premium is a way to address underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals and their peers, through ensuring that funding directly impacts disadvantage and reaches the pupils who need it most.

The Pupil Premium Grant aims to support your child in reaching their full potential, both academically and socially.

How will I know if my child is entitled to free school meals based on our family income?

If you are in receipt of the following benefits then you may be entitled to free school meals (and therefore the Pupil Premium Grant) for your child:

• Income Support;
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance;
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance;
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit;
• Child Tax Credit (as long as you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and you don't get more than £16,190 a year);Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit);
• Universal Credit (with annual earned income of no more than £7,400 after tax and not including any benefits you get).

However, we are asking ALL families (irrespective of their income status) to complete the registration process. This process will allow us to identify families eligible for additional funding.

How do I register my child’s entitlement for Pupil Premium?

Parents must apply for free school meals via the County Council Website here. This is a quick 5-minute process however you will need the following information: National Insurance Number, DOB, Child’s Name and DOB.

Once submitted an eligibility check is then carried out (via the Government) to confirm the details. Confirmation is then sent to you and us, and the Government is made aware of pupils claiming Free School Meals each term via something called the school census.

If you come across any problems or cannot access the application form let us know – we are most happy to help you submit it.

How will my child’s Pupil Premium Grant be spent?

Within school, we are fortunate to have the flexibility to choose how to spend the Pupil Premium money for each child who is in receipt of it, identifying what we believe would be of most benefit for them both in school and at home.

Pupil Premium grants can be carried forward to the next financial year if all the money is not spent in the year in which it is allocated.

Pupil Premium Grants can be used for what we refer to as one time equipment purchases (for example a Maths Dictionary or English Thesaurus or set of books), ongoing commitments (for example subsidising an after school club or holiday club), or in school support (for example additional interventions or adult input to support your child in reaching their potential).

What obligations are placed on the school and how are you held accountable?

Schools must monitor the impact of their selected approaches to improving provision for pupils entitled the grant.  Each year schools complete a Pupil Premium Strategy document outlining the priorities for the school year.

The OFSTED inspection framework ensures that their inspectors focus on the attainment of vulnerable pupils an in particular those in receipt of Pupil Premium. The inspections report on how schools’ use of the funding affects the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

In addition to this, we are also held accountable through performance tables which include data on:

• The attainment of the pupils who attract the funding;
• The progress made by these pupils;
• The gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

How are parents informed about the use of the Pupil Premium grants?

At F&B parents are part of the Pupil Premium process from the very beginning. As the money is for each individual child, it is vital for us that parents have the opportunity to voice how they feel this could be best utilised.

At the start of your child’s school journey you are invited to an initial Pupil Premium meeting where we discuss with you suggestions of how we can truly personalise the additional support we offer. This will allow us to direct funding for each child’s personal needs, on top of the funding we may already have allocated for their academic needs.

This initial meeting will be based around exploring the following areas to obtain an in depth overview of the needs of your child:

• Your child’s strengths and the things they like;

• The things your child may find a little tricky or avoid due to not feeling as confident;
• Something that you wouldn’t ordinarily choose to do but with additional funding you might like to offer to your child;
• Anything else that you feel, when offered to your child, would positively impact their learning journey.

Following this, conversations will be had with your child and their class teacher, at which point funding will be allocated.

This process is reviewed at the end of every term to monitor the impact the additional funding is having on your child.

My child is not disadvantaged and, even though we qualify, they do not need the Pupil Premium, why should I apply?

If eligible (whether that is currently of 6 years ago), school receives the money for your child. It may be that your child is working at the expected level, in which case we would use the Pupil Premium to support them in reaching the exceeded level. It may be that your child is achieving amazing results academically, but perhaps needs a little help with developing relationships, in which case we would use the Pupil Premium money to support them with this.

The money is tailored to the needs of your child to help them reach their full potential, both academically and socially, regardless of their starting point.

Who should parents contact for further information?

At F&B our Pupil Premium Champion is Mrs Jones (Inclusion Lead).

Mrs Jones gets to know each of our Pupil Premium Families and works alongside them during their time at F&B to ensure that the funding is used as effectively as possible.

For queries relating directly to the application process for Free School Meals please contact the school office on admin@fandb.herts.sch.uk

For queries relating directly to the Pupil Premium Funding please contact Mrs Jones on inco@fandb.herts.sch.uk.