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This funding has been in place for a number of years and is a key Government priority, based on findings that show that, as a group, children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in time have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible.
Whilst applications are often mainly based around this group of children being eligible for a free school meal, it is important to note that a pupil does not need to have a school dinner although we strongly encourage parents/carers to still apply if they think their child may be eligible as the money received by school for each eligible child is considerable and can have an impact on the service we can provide for their education.
At £1,320 per eligible pupil, this money is for schools to decide how to use in order to improve educational attainment of children from less privileged backgrounds. The pupil premium has the potential to have a great impact on the attainment, and future life chances, of pupils.
How we spend the pupil premium
Our provision plan shows how we are using the pupil premium and the specific outcomes each initiative is having. Our breakdown shows how we are using the pupil premium and the aims for each initiative; this includes how we’ve spent the pupil premium in previous years.)
However, we know that all children are different and have different needs. Therefore, if we feel that a child would benefit in a different way, we will invest our pupil premium to support them accordingly.
A large proportion of our funding is spent on staffing, including funding an extra teacher, staffing homework club, before school intervention/booster sessions or our nurturing lunchtime ‘Hub’ group. Classroom staff are aware of which children are eligible for the pupil premium and provide additional, frequent targeted support for these pupils. Teachers are required to produce timetables detailing different support activities: what the learning objective is, when the support will happen, who will lead the support (either the teacher or the teaching assistant) and who will benefit from the support. Children with pupil premium must be part of this.
Free School Meals
Free School Meals are available for children of families on low incomes. Find out more information.
If your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 and you think you are eligible for free school meals, we strongly encourage you to still register for FSMs EVEN if your child is receiving a lunch under the Universal Free School meal initiative. The school is given extra funding to support their learning and individual needs (called the Pupil Premium Grant). Schools currently receive £1320 per child entitled to FSM/Pupil Premium.
As well as ensuring your child has a cooked meal, there are other benefits to Free School Meals: children may also qualify for remission of music fees or help with school uniform. In addition, a portion of the school’s funding is directly related to the number of children eligible for ‘Free School Meals’. There is certainly no stigma involved with receiving Free School Meals and we encourage all parents/carers who think they may be eligible to claim.
To find out if you qualify, visit the Hertfordshire Direct website, apply here or call 0300 123 4048.
I was so happy when I knew I could go to Kingswood, I nearly cried. I’ve got so many favourite memories” (Year 6 after residential visit, July 2016, partly paid for through Pupil Premium).