Our Pupil Premium Strategy

What is the Pupil Premium Grant ?

The Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) is additional funding which is allocated to schools on the basis of the number of pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), or have been at any point over the last 6 years (Ever 6).

The PPG is aimed at addressing the current underlying inequalities which exist between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and more affluent peers. The PPG also provides funding for children who have been looked after (at any time) for more than 6 months, and children of services personnel.

As a group, children who have been eligible for FSM at any point in time have been shown to have consistently lower attainment than those who have never been eligible for FSM.  In previous years, funds were also made available from the DfE for 'catch up', and this has been included in our PPG strategy costings.

Am i eligible for free school meals ?

Section 512 of the Education Act 1996, as amended, places a duty on schools to provide free school meals to pupils of all ages that meet the criteria.  Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods).

 Eligibility criteria for free school meals includes:  

• 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 guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190) 
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit 

What does PPG look like at Birdham CE Primary School?