Pupil Premium
Introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.
This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers.
Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality.The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates.
Is Your Child Eligible?
Primary schools are given a pupil premium for:
- Children in Reception to Year 6 eligible for free school meals now, or at any point in the last six years (FSM Ever 6): £1,515 per pupil per year
- Children in care: £2,630 per pupil per year
- Children previously in care who were adopted or left care under a special guardianship order or child arrangements order: £2,630 per pupil per year
- Children from service families: £350 per pupil per year
How to Claim Your Child's Pupil Premium
Schools receive pupil premium funding for children who are eligible for free school meals (FSM), or who have been eligible at any point in the last six years (known as FSM Ever 6).
A child may qualify for benefits-based free school meals if their parent or carer receives:
- Universal Credit (with net earned income of no more than £7,400 per year, excluding benefits)
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided the family is not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and has an annual gross income of £16,190 or less)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after stopping qualification for Working Tax Credit)
Schools may also receive pupil premium funding for children who are looked after by a local authority, children who were previously looked after and left care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child arrangements order, and eligible children from service families.
Children who have qualified for free school meals at any point in the previous six years continue to attract pupil premium funding through the FSM Ever 6 measure, even if they are no longer eligible for free school meals.
From September 2026, all children in households receiving Universal Credit are entitled to free school meals, even though the £7,400 threshold continues to be relevant for targeted FSM and pupil premium purposes.
Schools are responsible for recording the children who are eligible for pupil premium in their annual school census - you don't have to do anything yourself, other than making sure you return any paperwork that relates to the benefits you receive or your child's entitlement to free school meals.
If your child qualifies for free school meals or has at any point in the past six years, it’s important that you notify school – even if they're in Reception or KS1 and receive universal school meals for infant pupils, or are in KS2 and take a packed lunch – as this enables us to claim pupil premium.
Register for free school meals and the pupil premium grant online here.
Pupil Premium Strategy
At St Mary and St Andrew’s, because of the relatively low numbers of pupils identified, and the diverse needs of the group we regularly review and personalise our offer. Through the cycle of teaching & learning and vitally knowing our children as individuals, we identify any barriers to learning and develop strategies to help them overcome these. The impact of our interventions is analysed so that we can then adapt our practice.
We have high aspirations and ambitions for all our children and firmly believe that we enhance the academic, personal, social and spiritual growth of each child. As such we believe in improving provision across the curriculum to help children achieve their full potential.
