Understand how the pupil premium is allocated
- Pupil premium funding is allocated for the financial, rather than the academic year
- In 2026-27, for mainstream and special schools it's allocated based on the number of eligible pupils recorded on your roll in the October 2025 census ('Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders' hasn't been updated to reflect this yet, but the DfE uses the October census every year)
- For pupil referral units (PRUs) and alternative provision (AP) academies, it’s allocated based on the number of eligible pupils recorded in the January 2026 census ('Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders' hasn't been updated to reflect this yet, but the DfE uses the January census every year)
- Maintained schools – LAs receive the money from the DfE and allocate it out to their schools
- Academies and non-maintained special schools – receive the money directly from the DfE
You're not required to spend all your allocation