Pupil Premium

What is the Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is additional funding for schools to address underlying inequalities between children eligible for Free School Meals

FSM) and looked after children and their peers, by ensuring that the funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the children who most need it.

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and 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 are looked after, children who have been previously looked after and children of service personnel.

Pupil Premium Spending Principles at Darrick Wood

Darrick Wood will be using the Education Endowment Fund’s tiered approach to determining effective Pupil Premium spending.

Tier 1 – Teaching

Spending on improving teaching might include professional development, training and support for early career teachers and recruitment and retention. Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and that every teacher is supported to keep improving, is the ingredient of a successful school and should rightly be the top priority for Pupil Premium spending.

Tier 2 – Targeted academic support

Evidence consistently shows the positive impact that targeted academic support can have, including on those who are not making good progress across the spectrum of achievement. Considering how classroom teachers and teaching assistants can provide targeted academic support, including how to link structured one-to-one or small group intervention to classroom teaching, is likely to be a key component of an effective Pupil Premium strategy.

Tier 3 – Wider strategies

Wider strategies relate to the most significant non-academic barriers to success in school, including attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support. While many barriers may be common between schools, it is also likely that the specific features of the community each school serves will affect spending in this category.

Documents

• Pupil Premium Strategy Statement – Academic year 2022-2023
• Pupil Premium Strategy Statement – Academic Year 2023-2024
• Pupil Premium Strategy Statement – Academic Year 2024-2025