George Dixon Academy

What is pupil premium?

Pupil premium is additional funding that the government gives to our school to help support specific disadvantaged pupils of any academic ability to achieve their educational potential.

The amount of pupil premium funding our school receives is decided by how many eligible pupils we have on our roll. We then receive funding per every child eligible for pupil premium.  

a. Who is eligible for pupil premium?

In order for a pupil to be eligible or deemed to be pupil premium they have to fall into one of the following categories: 

1) Ever 6 Free School Meals 

For the academic year 2023 – 2024, the FSM Ever 6 pupil premium includes pupils attending mainstream and special schools recorded in the October 2022 school census who have had a recorded period of free school eligibility since January 2017. It also includes those first recorded as eligible in October 2022.

2) Looked-after Children (LAC) 

According to the Children Act 1989, looked-after children are defined as children who are in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority.  

This funding amounts to £2,530 for a child in a primary or a secondary setting. The government pays the funding to the local authority, usually the Virtual School. This money is ring-fenced to the pupil. 

3) Previously Looked-after Children (PLAC) 

Previously looked-after children are children who were looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted.

It also applies to children who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order, formerly known as a residence order.  

This funding amounts to £2,530 for a child in a primary or a secondary setting. The government pays it directly to the school.  

4) Service Children 

The Service Pupil Premium (SPP) applies to children where at least one of their parents is currently serving in the regular armed forces. This includes pupils with at least one parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service.

It also applies to children where one of their parents died while in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme of the War Pensions Scheme.

It applies to children recorded as a service child on a school census over the last seven years. This funding amounts to £320 per child, spanning Year R to Year 11.  

5) Children of families with no recourse to public funds who are eligible for free school meals (NRPF) 

There is a separate claims criteria for these pupils. The government allocates almost £1,000 of funding to these children. 

It is also worth noting that since the pandemic, the Department for Education introduced a recovery premium grant. This grant is time-limited, providing the educational sector with an additional £300,000,000 for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years.

b. How does our school spend the pupil premium fund?

Here are some examples of how we typically spend this money: 

Staffing

• Professional development that prioritises effective and adaptive classroom delivery 
• Teachers/support staff 
• Child & family advocate 

Learning support

• Tutoring/additional tuition for specific children or small groups of children 
• Targeted support in maths, English.
• Direct instruction or fast learning to support pupils who are not yet secondary-ready
• Classroom resources 
• Removing barriers to learning, for example uniform, stationery and other relevant equipment 
• Revision materials 
• Books
• Sports equipment  
• Newspapers, magazines and journal subscriptions 
• Clubs, trips and lessons
• Music lessons 
• Theatre trips 
• School trips 
• Extra-curricular clubs 
• Breakfast clubs 
• Holiday clubs 

Wellbeing

• Counselling/courses to support wellbeing and mental health 

Behaviour and attendance

• Approaches to attendance, including staffing (attendance officer)
• Alternate provision 

c. Pupil premium funding letter to our families

We will communicate to parents/carers to outline what the pupil premium fund is and how we are spending it.