Pupil Premium

“Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. 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.”

Source: DfE Guidance September 2021

Information for parents

Students qualify as being eligible for PP if they satisfy at least one of the following:

They are currently entitled to Free School Meals.
They have received Free School Meals at any point in the last 6 years.
They are looked after by the Local Authority.
Pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care.

Confidentiality

Please be assured that we make every effort to treat this matter with sensitivity. To ensure that your daughter gains access to a wide range of intervention, staff are made aware of who is entitled to PP or SPP so that they are able to identify the appropriate support within their subject area.

If you have any specific questions about Pupil Premium, please contact our PP Lead at [email protected]

Reasons for PP

PP is allocated to schools so that they can address the national achievement gap between students who are eligible and those who are not. The school is charged with allocating this money to maximise student achievement in whatever way they think is most appropriate. Please refer to additional information about how this money is allocated under Pupil Premium Expenditure on the policies page of the school website.

Provision

PP may be used for the following:

To subsidise educational resources that your daughter needs for school
To subsidise curriculum trips, activities or DofE Expeditions
To provide academic or emotional mentoring at school
To assist with uniform and chromebook costs (please see more below)
To support other expenses judged appropriate by the school to maximise your daughter’s attainment.

Please note that the school gains different levels of funding depending on the reasons for PP. For example there is a smaller funding provision, Service Pupil Premium (SPP), for students whose parent(s) are currently serving in the UK armed forces to address the emotional and social well-being of these students.

Free School Meals (FSM)

On top of Pupil Premium, some students are additionally eligible for Free School Meals. The FSM allowance is £2.85 per day, which is registered using the finger scanners as with all students. If your daughter wants to spend more than that per day, you will need to top up their account.

Free School Meals eligibility criteria:

Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Contribution to school uniform

Year 6 students who are currently eligible for Free School Meals are given £100 credit towards their uniform. In subsequent years, £50 can be claimed each year. For students who only qualify for Pupil Premium, any financial support is on a case by case basis (requested by using our Request for Financial Assistance form).

Applying for FSM or financial assistance

If you would like to apply for Free School Meals or financial support for purchasing an education trip or uniform, please complete the confidential ‘Request for Financial Assistance’ form accessed via the Parents’ section of the website.

Aylesbury High School