The pupil premium: how schools are spending the funding successfully to maximise achievement
Synopsis
The pupil premium was introduced by the Coalition government in April 2011 as a means of providing additional support for children in care, and those from low-income families. Extra funding is made available to schools to help narrow the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged, and more affluent, backgrounds.
Two years after its implementation Ofsted investigated how effectively schools were using the additional funding. This report provides case studies of successful implementation.
They found that schools whose strategies had the most impact on improving outcomes were those who had given careful thought to how they should spend the pupil premium funding. Schools that successfully intervened to improve outcomes shared certain characteristics, such as ring fencing the funding, and using the Sutton Trust’s toolkit to inform their interventions while thoroughly analysing which pupils were underachieving.
Methodology
CPD Opportunities
This report offers an overview of the common approaches schools use in effective interventions funded through the pupil premium. It may be useful to policy makers and leaders of schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils.