Pupil Premium and Free School Meals
What is Pupil Premium?
The Government provides money to all schools to help pupils from lower income families do their very best. This funding is called the ‘Pupil Premium’. Schools receive this additional funding for each pupil on roll registered as eligible for free school meals or where there has been a successful claim for free school meals in the past six years. This currently amounts to an additional £1,345 per pupil in year 6 and £955 per pupil in years 7 and 8, per year. There are also additional funds available to support pupils who are looked after or previously looked after.
Further funding is also available for Service Children. The Service Pupil Premium has been set up to support the unique challenges children with parents in the armed forces can often face. Schools receive an additional £310 funding per pupil, per year, for young people who meet the criteria. For further information, please click the following website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-service-pupil-premium
We use this money to help our pupils achieve the best possible outcomes during their time at Bredon Hill Academy.
“Publicly-funded schools in England get extra funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.
Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:
·generally face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
·often do not perform as well as their peers
The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve.”
“The pupil premium is not based on ability. Research shows that the most academically able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of under-performing. Schools should focus on these pupils just as much as pupils with low results.”
“It’s up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium. This is because school leaders are best-placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use funding to improve attainment.”
(From the DFE website)
How is the additional funding spent?
Being eligible for a free school meal clearly has a benefit to the pupil: namely, a free high-quality meal. This saves parents/carers over £400 per year. Another benefit is help to support payments linked to some educational visits and trips.
At Bredon Hill Academy we aim to ensure all pupils have access to the correct support, guidance, and curriculum, in order to narrow the disadvantage gap and this underpins the way our Pupil Premium funding is allocated; any inequalities will be addressed by focusing on personalised programmes for our Pupil Premium pupils.
A summary of planned Pupil Premium expenditure and a review of the spending during the previous academic year is accessible below
Eligibility Criteria
A pupil may be eligible for free school meals if their parents are in receipt of any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit, provided the parents are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
- Working Tax Credit run-on, which is paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax credit
- Universal Credit – household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits)
Pupils may also get free school meals if they receive any of these benefits directly, instead of through a parent.
Further details are available through https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals
What do I have to do?
If you think your daughter/son qualifies for additional funding or Free School Melas, please apply through Worcestershire Children First via this link: https://emsi.worcestershire.gov.uk/CitizenPortal_LIVE/en
This will take you to a quick, easy to manage portal. Once you have applied, you will receive confirmation if successful and Bredon Hill Academy will be informed directly.
Mr Horton, Assistant Headteacher, will be more than happy to help with all enquires in confidence regarding Pupil Premium and to assist any eligible parents/carers to apply. He can be contacted by using our form here.
Aside from Pupil Premium, the school also has a Hardship Fund, allowing parents/carers to apply for financial support linked to their child's learning as a result of exceptional circumstances. More information can be found here.