Pupil Premium Funding

What is pupil premium?

Pupil premium is additional funding given to schools to help them improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.

Once a year, we provide the Department for Education (DfE) with information that we hold about our pupils in a census return. Allocations are made based on the school that the eligible pupil attends at the time of the January school census. This information is used to determine the amount of additional funding the school can receive for specific pupils, and we then ensure the money is spent to benefit these pupils over the course of the school year.

Where can I find more information on pupil premium funding?

For more information on pupil premium please click here to visit the Department for Education’s website.

How do I know if my child can receive pupil premium funding?

Free School Meals

The most common reason a pupil receives pupil premium funding at our school is because a parent is registered as receiving a benefit that entitles them to free school meals. This is not the same as receiving a free school meal if your child is in KS1.

Free school meal / pupil premium funding now works as: All pupils in KS1 will receive a free school meal under the UIFSM (Universal Infant Free School Meals) scheme. However, if you receive certain benefits your child can still receive additional pupil premium funding, but you MUST submit an application form.

To apply for pupil premium for your child please follow this link:

https://www.somerset.gov.uk/education-and-families/free-school-meals/

If you need support in accessing or completing an application, please contact the school office.

Service children

Children of armed service personnel are also eligible. Service children are children and young people from families where one or more parent is currently in the British armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Pupils attract the premium if they meet the following criteria:

one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces
one of their parents served in the regular armed forces in the last 6 years
one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil is in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS)

Looked After / Previously Looked After Children

Schools will also receive £2410 for each pupil who has left local-authority care because of one of the following:

adoption
a special guardianship order
a child arrangements order
a residence order

If a pupil has been registered as eligible for free school meals and has also left local authority care for any of the reasons above, they will attract the £2410 rate.

Children who have been in local authority care for 1 day or more also attract £2410 of pupil premium funding. Funding for these pupils doesn’t go to their school; it goes to the Virtual School Head (VSH)
(https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-the-adoption-system-and-services-for-looked-after-children/supporting-pages/virtual-school-heads-vsh) in the local authority that looks after the child. VSHs are responsible for managing pupil premium funding for looked after children (https://www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-virtual-school-heads-responsibilities).

If you are unsure whether or not your child is eligible for pupil premium funding, please speak to our pupil premium champion Headteacher, Mrs Chloe Holt

How much money does the school receive?

In the 2022 to 2023 financial year, the pupil premium funding allocation is:

£1385 for each eligible free school meal primary-aged pupil

£320 for each eligible service child.

How is pupil premium money spent at Nether Stowey C of E VC Primary ?

Schools can choose how to spend their pupil premium money, as they are best placed to identify what would be of most benefit to the children who are eligible.

At Nether Stowey we are committed to ensuring that each child that receives pupil premium money will benefit from the funding. Given the right learning environment we believe all pupils can flourish and reach their full potential.

Often, other children in the class will reap some benefit from how the school spends its pupil premium funding. For example, if the money is used to fund an additional teaching assistant, this member of staff may work with pupils who are eligible for funding as well as pupils who are not.

For the forthcoming school year (where individual funds are not exhausted), we have committed pupil premium money to paying up to 50% of the cost of residential trips. This is because we strongly feel pupils benefit from being fully included in all school activities, and should not feel excluded due to finances. School trips also increase pupils self-confidence, can lead to greater independence, better team-working and happier pupils.

Pupil premium monies are also spent at the headteacher's discretion on other things

Including:

Extra one-to-one or small-group support for children within the classroom.
Employing extra teaching assistants to work with classes.
Contributions to school breakfast club.
Providing music lessons for children whose families would be unable to pay for them.
Funding up to 50% of costs for educational trips and visits.
Investing in resources that boost children’s learning, such as laptops or tablets.
Purchasing shoes and school uniform – including a PE kit – for a disadvantaged child.

Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.