Pupil premium

Read our 1-minute summary of the pupil premium and download it to share with your colleagues.

Last reviewed on 23 February 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 12544

Eligibility and funding amounts

The pupil premium is a grant given to schools to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, and to support pupils with parents in the armed forces (this part of it is also known as the 'service premium').

You receive money for each pupil of compulsory school age who fits the eligibility criteria. There are 5 categories of eligibility, with different amounts of funding attached.

Allocation

The grant is allocated in line with the financial year, which begins in April, rather than the academic year. It's based on the number of eligible pupils recorded at your school in the:

  • October census (for mainstream and special schools) 
  • January census (for PRUs and AP academies)

Maintained schools receive the grant through their local authority (LA). Academies receive it directly from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. All schools receive quarterly instalments.

Pupil premium funding for looked-after children is allocated to the virtual school head in the LA, rather than schools. The virtual school head will work with schools to decide how it will be spent.

Spending the grant

You must spend the funding on activities chosen from a 'menu of approaches' published by the DfE. Find out more in our article on spending the pupil premium.

You don't need to spend an equal amount on each pupil, or fund interventions that benefit only eligible pupils.

Publishing pupil premium information

If you receive pupil premium funding, you must:

  • Publish a pupil premium strategy statement each year by 31 December
  • Use the template published by the DfE to complete your strategy statement

You'll need to provide details of how you’re spending the grant and its impact on your pupils. Read more about reporting on the pupil premium.

If you're in an academy, check if your funding agreement requires you to publish anything different.

Early years pupil premium

The early years pupil premium (EYPP) is for disadvantaged children aged 3 and 4 years old. All providers who are eligible to receive early education funding are also eligible to receive the EYPP.

To share this QuickRead with colleagues, simply download and print it from the link below:

QuickRead: Pupil premium grant PDF, 68.6 KB

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