The Pupil Premium is an allocation of additional funding for schools to support our most vulnerable pupils and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. The government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.
The Pupil Premium is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’).
Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after (e.g. with foster carers) continuously for more than six months, and children of service personnel (the Forces).