Pupil Premium
Purpose
Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.
Pupil eligibility and funding rates 2024 to 2025
This table shows how pupil premium funding is allocated to schools and local authorities. Allocations are provided on a financial year basis, based on the following pupil eligibility rates.
| Pupil eligibility criteria | Amount of funding for each primary-aged pupil per year | Amount of funding for each secondary-aged pupil per year | Funding is paid to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years (including eligible children of families with no recourse to public funds) | £1480 | £1050 | School |
| Pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care | £2570 | £2570 | School |
| Children who are looked after by the local authority | £2570 | £2570 | Local authority |
Use of the pupil premium
Funding paid to schools
School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils and schools are not required to spend all of the allocated grant on eligible pupils.
It is for school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium, within the requirements of the conditions of grant.
Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when used across 3 areas.
- 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.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) recommend that schools particularly focus their pupil premium on supporting high-quality teaching.