What is Pupil Premium funding?

• Pupil Premium money is given to schools to help them to help children from low income families to make faster progress in lessons.
• Funding is based on the number of children in school who have had free school meals at any point in the past 6 years; children who are in care or are adopted; and children who have family members in the armed forces.
• 47% of our pupils currently receive pupil premium funding.
• Our Pupil premium funding is reviewed by the end of the Autumn Term each year.

Overthorpe C of E Academy recognises that all pupils regardless of their background should have equal access to a curriculum which will enable them to reach their potential. The Pupil Premium is a Government initiative that targets extra money to pupils from deprived backgrounds, which research shows underachieve compared to their peers. The Pupil Premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers

The Government have used pupils entitled to Free School meals as an indicator for deprivation, and have deployed a fixed amount of money to schools per pupil, based on the number of pupils eligible for Free School meals. Looked after or the children of armed service personnel are also eligible for this increased funding.

The Government are not dictating how schools should spend this money, but are clear that schools will need to employ the strategies that they know will support these pupils to increase their attainment, and ‘close the gap’ between their attainment and the attainment of other pupils.