Pupil Premium funding
What is pupil premium? Pupil Premium provides funding for the purpose of improving the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. Schools must use their Pupil Premium grant to accelerate disadvantaged pupils’ progress, in order to raise their attainment. This will contribute to closing the national attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.. 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. This is not the same as receiving a free school meal if your child is in KS1.
From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, The DfE delivered an expansion to Free School Meals eligibility to include all pupils from households in receipt of Universal Credit (UC). There are now two categories of free school meals:
- ‘Targeted Free School Meals’, which continues to be based on the existing £7,400 income threshold; and
- ‘Expanded Free School Meals’, which will apply to meals only, covering pupils who do not qualify for Targeted Free School Meals, but who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit.
If you qualify for Targeted or Expanded Free School Meals, you MUST submit an application form.
To apply 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
Service Pupil Premium grant is allocated to local authorities who distribute to each school they maintain, based on the number of pupils who meet any of the following criteria:
- one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service) or is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England – and they have been registered as a ‘service child’ in the most recent autumn DfE school census
- they do not currently have ‘service child’ status but they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on any DfE school census in the past 6 years
- one of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
Looked After / Previously Looked After Children Schools will also receive £2690 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 £2690 rate.
Children who have been in local authority care for 1 day or more also attract £2690 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 and deputy headteacher, Karen Turnbull.
How much money does the school receive? In the 2026 to 2027 financial year, the pupil premium funding allocation is:
£1550 for each eligible free school meal primary-aged pupil
- £360 for each eligible service child.
How is pupil premium money spent at Beech Grove?
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 Beech Grove 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 enable our vulnerable children to access extra-curricular and enrichment activities. This is because we strongly feel pupils benefit from being fully included in all school activities, and should not feel excluded due to finances. Enrichment activities 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.
- Running catch-up sessions before or after school, for example for children who need extra help with maths or literacy.
- Providing extra tuition for able children.
- Providing enrichment activities and opportunities for children whose families would be unable to pay for them.
- Paying for additional help such as speech and language therapy, play therapy and family therapy.
- Funding English classes for children who speak another language at home.
- Investing in resources that boost children’s learning, such as laptops or tablets.
- Providing shoes and school uniform – including a PE kit – for a disadvantaged child.
Can you influence how the pupil premium is used?
There is no obligation for us to consult you about how we use the money received for your child. However, we do have to show that we are using our pupil premium fund appropriately. This is measured through Ofsted inspections and annual performance tables showing the progress made by children who are eligible for pupil premium.
How are results monitored?
Before the start of the year, all teachers are made aware of whom their pupil premium children are. Their current needs are assessed and the appropriate provision determined. Pupil progress is checked regularly through the year to ensure all pupils are making progress and to identify where additional support may be needed.
