Pupil Premium

Pupil premium is additional funding received by schools for each pupil from disadvantaged families or backgrounds. It’s allocated to schools based on the number of children who come from less priveleged backgrounds – this is defined as those who are currently known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM). It also includes pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years; children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months; and children where a parent serves in the armed forces.

It’s based on findings that show that, as a group, children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in time have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. Schools can use the money to support other pupils with identified needs.

It’s important to note that a pupil does not need to have a free school dinner, but parents / carers should use the link – check to see if you are entitled.

At around £1,000 per eligible pupil, this money is for schools to decide how to use in order to improve educational attainment of children from less privileged backgrounds.

For further details of our use of Pupil Premium funding and its impact on our pupils’ achievement please use the links below:

A large proportion of our funding is spent on additional classroom support.  Staff are aware of which children are eligible for the pupil premium and provide additional, frequent targeted support for these pupils.  

At St James, we know that all children are different and have different needs. Therefore, if we feel that a child would benefit in a different way, we will invest pupil premium funding to support that child in a different way.