Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England.
GOV.UK provides the current funding rates.
Use of the premium is recorded on the Personal Education Plan and is linked to specific targets on the plan. Children and young people educated in Bracknell Forest but looked after by another local authority have their Pupil Premium paid through the authority that looks after them, not Bracknell Forest.
Funding for pupils that are adopted is paid directly to schools for schools to use. Parents and guardians need to self-declare their child’s status to the school where their child is on roll.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible, children must:
- be living in England
- have been adopted from care in England and Wales, or
- have left care in England and Wales under a Special guardianship order (SGO) or Child Arrangements Order (CAO)
There is no premium in post-16 education.
Making a claim
Schools will not necessarily be aware that they have adopted, SGO or CAO children on roll.
If your child meets the eligibility criteria and you would like the school to claim the pupil premium, you should:
- inform the school of your child’s status
- confirm your child was in local authority care in England or Wales
- provide evidence, such as a copy of the adoption order
School census
In order for schools to receive funding, children need to be recorded as eligible on the school census.
The school census for recording pupil premium from 2021 to 2022 for mainstream and special schools is in the October 2020 school census (previously January).
This is for those pupils who have had a recorded period of free school meals eligibility since January 2015, as well as those first recorded as eligible at October 2020.
For pupil referral units, the pupil premium from 2021 to 2022 includes pupils recorded in the January 2021 school census who have had a recorded period of free school meals eligibility since May 2015, as well as those who first recorded eligible at January 2021.
Changing schools
Parents and guardians need to self-declare again if their child moves school. If the child does not change schools they will continue to attract Pupil Premium funding.
Parents and guardians need to make sure that they self-declare to their child’s new school by the autumn school census date before their child’s move. This will make sure schools are able to access funding from the child’s start date.
Payment
Schools receive funding for pupils who are recorded on the October school census in the following financial year.
For example, eligible pupils recorded on the October 2021 school census will qualify for premium funding from April 2021 to March 2022 (that is the 2021 to 2022 financial year).