Updated on
January 23, 2026
|
January 21, 2022
Maximise Pupil Premium funding impact with evidence-based strategies. Explore allocation, accountability, EEF guidance, and effective interventions for.
As a headteacher, making strategic decisions about pupil premium spending can feel overwhelming, especially when you're accountable for demonstrating measurable impact on your most disadvantaged students' outcomes. The pressure to allocate these vital funds effectively whilst navigating competing priorities and limited budgets means every pound must count towards closing the attainment gap. Whether you're planning your next academic year's spending strategy or reviewing current interventions, the key lies in evidence-based approaches that target the root causes of underachievement rather than just the symptoms. But which interventions actually deliver the best return on investment, and how can you ensure your pupil premium strategy transforms educational outcomes rather than simply ticking boxes?
This source of funding is a government initiative designed to improve educational outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The aim of Pupil Premium is to ensure that every child receives a fair start in life and reaches their full potential. To achieve this goal, the Government provides additional funding to schools serving pupils from poorer families. This extra cash helps teachers to give these children extra support throughout their school career. This includes providing them with specialist teaching staff, better resources, and improved facilities. Pupil Premium is available to primary schools across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To find out more visit www.pupilpremium.gov.uk.
The pupil premium is given to enable disadvantaged students to be supported to achieve their potential and have opportunities and experiences to support this. Although the state allocates this additional school funding, school leaders are responsible for using and distributing this additional funding after checking the students' eligibility for pupil premium funding in their schools. They may use all of the grants on to school or save some for funding activities to benefit any specific group, or all, of the looked after children in the school.
This targeted financial support can be used in a range of different ways within an education setting. The family circumstances can often be complex and schools need to provide unique support and provision for pupils entitled to this funding stream. The educational benefit depends upon how the extra funding is used. Organisations like the education endowment foundation provide guidance on where to focus provision. The Department for education also provides guidance but ultimately it is the school that makes the decision about the type and quality of provision.
As well as the statutory guidance for school leaders, there are plenty of independent articles providing guidance resources for senior leaders. Whether you are looking at building an extra provision for children in reception or exploring how your community of teachers can be more creative in narrowing the attainment gap, we're sure this article will provide you with some answers.
The pupil premium funding is distributed on basis of the number of students who are registered in the following categories (2024-25 rates):
The government allocates £1,050 for each secondary school child eligible to receive free school meals in the last 6 years, also specified as the Ever 6 FSM.
The state has allocated £2,570 for each of the secondary or primary school eligible children who were previously under the care of local authority through adoption, through child arrangements order or special guardianship order.
The publicly funded schools of the United Kingdom are eligible to receive pupil premium grants, mainly including:
The government contends that schools leaders are the best to know the needs and annual income of their students' families. Hence, school leaders, mainly including, the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), how to use the pupil premium grant in their schools.
As suggested by the Education Endowment Foundation, several school leaders acquire a three-tier strategy to the pupil premium funding which divides the grant into three categories:
Although some publicly-funded schools decide to use their model, the main objective to close the attainment gap remains at the top. State-funded schools often explore intervention strategies as a way of scaffolding learning for the most disadvantaged. Suitable intervention strategies might include the adoption of the Universal Thinking Framework that makes learning more accessible to everyone. This type of inclusive practise means that all pupils, regardless of family income, can access education.
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Schools are required to maintain transparency by indicating how they are using the pupil premium funding. Some of the most important ways include:
The service pupil premium is also another kind of extra funding for schools, but it does not depend upon the disadvantage. The service pupil premium is added into pupil premium grants to allow schools to manage their spending more conveniently.
Schools are expected to receive £340 in 2024-25 and £340 in 2024-25 for students:
The main purpose of Service children premium is to provide disadvantaged pupils with pastoral care.
Schools may spend pupil premium money to benefit non-eligible pupils. Schools can utilize their grant where ever they have the greatest need. For instance, pupil premium might be spent on those students who do not fulfil school meal criteria but:
Spending Pupil Premium payments for improving teaching quality is the most useful way to benefit disadvantaged pupils under special guardianship. In this way, schools might inevitably help non- eligible pupils too.
The state does not allocate pupil premium grants on basis of children's academic success in school. Local authorities and schools are provided with the funding according to the total number of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for special guardianship.
It is because academically able students of low income families can also be at extreme risk of under-performance. Children eligible to receive pupil premium are the children from families in need, and they deserve just as much attention as less academically able students.
The pupil premium grant is a state initiative to provide additional funding to disadvantaged pupils, to reduce the inequalities between children. Research shows that children belonging to low income families normally face more challenges in achieving their potential and mostly, they do not perform as well in education as other students. The pupil premium enables these children to be supported to attain their potential and have opportunities and experiences to support this.
Understanding pupil premium eligibility is crucial for accurate budget planning and ensuring no child misses out on additional support. The funding covers distinct groups of disadvantaged pupils, each with specific qualifying criteria that schools must verify through their management information systems.
The largest category includes pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) or those who have been eligible at any point in the last six years, often referred to as 'Ever 6 FSM'. These students attract £1,455 per primary pupil and £1,035 per secondary pupil annually. Schools should regularly cross-reference their FSM registers with local authority data, as some families don't claim despite eligibility, potentially losing thousands in funding.
Looked-after children (LAC) and previously looked-after children form another key group, receiving £2,570 per pupil. This higher rate reflects their often complex needs and the additional support required. Virtual school heads typically oversee this funding, working closely with designated teachers to create personalised education plans that address trauma-informed learning approaches.
Service children receive £335 per pupil through the Service Pupil Premium (SPP), recognising the unique challenges of military family life. Many headteachers find success by establishing dedicated pastoral support groups where service children can connect with peers experiencing similar transitions and deployment-related anxieties.
To maximise your allocation, implement termly eligibility checks using parent communication systems and work with your local authority's benefits team to identify potentially eligible families. Consider hosting informal coffee mornings where staff can discreetly discuss FSM applications with parents who might be reluctant to apply due to stigma or misunderstanding about the process.
As a headteacher, you're accountable for pupil premium spending through multiple channels, with Ofsted inspections forming the most visible aspect of this oversight. Inspectors will scrutinise not just how you've allocated funds, but crucially, the impact these investments have made on disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment. They'll examine your school's data dashboards, tracking systems, and intervention records to assess whether spending decisions translate into improved outcomes.
Your governing body plays a vital role in this accountability framework. Governors should receive termly reports detailing pupil premium expenditure, intervention effectiveness, and progress data for disadvantaged pupils. Consider presenting this information through clear impact statements; for instance, showing how £15,000 invested in small-group literacy support led to an average reading age improvement of 18 months for participating Year 7 pupils. This evidence-based approach strengthens governance and prepares you for external scrutiny.
The statutory requirement to publish your pupil premium strategy on your school website creates public accountability. This document must outline your planned spending, rationale for chosen approaches, and success criteria. Update it annually with actual impact data, creating a transparent record of your stewardship. For example, if you've invested in breakfast clubs, include attendance figures showing improved punctuality rates amongst disadvantaged pupils, alongside academic progress metrics.
Additionally, the DfE monitors pupil premium effectiveness through performance tables and the annual school census. Your disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8 scores, Attainment 8 results, and EBacc entry rates all feed into national datasets that compare schools' effectiveness in supporting these learners. This data becomes particularly significant when your school faces inspection or when parents evaluate school choices, making strategic, evidence-informed spending essential for maintaining your school's reputation and fulfilling your moral obligation to these pupils.
Service pupil premium provides additional funding of £335 per eligible pupil to support children from military families. Unlike standard pupil premium, SPP recognises the unique challenges these students face: frequent school moves, parental deployment, and the emotional impact of service life. As a headteacher, understanding how to allocate this funding effectively requires recognising that service children's needs differ significantly from other disadvantaged groups.
The most successful SPP strategies address both academic and pastoral needs. Consider establishing a dedicated 'forces champion' within your staff team; someone who understands military life and can provide consistent support when parents deploy. Many schools create transition programmes specifically for service children, including buddy systems where existing service pupils mentor newcomers. This approach proves particularly effective when combined with visual resources like deployment calendars and communication tools that help children maintain contact with deployed parents.
Research from the University of Winchester highlights that service children often demonstrate resilience but may struggle with literacy continuity due to frequent moves. Therefore, investing SPP funding in portable learning resources works well. Digital reading programmes that children can access from any location, comprehensive handover documentation between schools, and catch-up literacy interventions all show measurable impact. Some headteachers pool SPP funding to employ specialist teaching assistants who run small group sessions focusing on gaps in learning caused by curriculum differences between schools.
Remember that SPP eligibility extends beyond deployment periods. Children qualify if a parent has served in the regular armed forces within the last six years, recognising that the impact of service life continues even after parents leave the military. This broader eligibility criterion means your SPP cohort may be larger than initially assumed, requiring careful audit of admissions data.
The funding varies significantly based on student circumstances. Primary pupils eligible for free school meals receive £1,480, secondary pupils receive £1,050, whilst both currently and previously looked-after children receive the highest rate of £2,570 per pupil.
The three-tier approach divides pupil premium spending into teaching (staff development and training), academic support (one-to-one tuition and intervention programmes), and wider educational support (addressing attendance, mental health, and extracurricular activities). This systematic framework helps schools move away from random spending towards evidence-based improvement strategies.
Schools must publish an annual strategy statement online, updated at least once yearly from the autumn term. They must also be prepared to demonstrate their strategy's effectiveness during Ofsted inspections, with inspectors frequently asking in inspections how schools support disadvantaged pupils across all subjects.
The Universal Thinking Framework approach makes learning accessible to all pupils whilst specifically addressing the needs of disadvantaged students. This inclusive practise ensures that support doesn't stigmatise particular groups and creates a scaffold that benefits everyone whilst closing the attainment gap.
The funding can address wider barriers to learning including attendance issues, social and emotional support, mental health services, and student counselling. Popular provisions also include breakfast clubs, educational trips, transport costs, and extracurricular activities that disadvantaged pupils might otherwise miss.
The £2,570 allocation for looked-after children requires completely different strategies due to their complex family circumstances and unique needs. Schools must provide more intensive, personalised support compared to the standard free school meals approach, often requiring specialist staff and tailored interventions.
Schools must show concrete examples of how their strategy impacts disadvantaged pupils across all lessons, from music to mathematics. They need performance data through published tables and clear evidence that their three-tier approach is systematically improving outcomes rather than representing random spending decisions.
These peer-reviewed studies provide the research foundation for the strategies discussed in this article:
Beyond the Classroom: How Socioeconomic Status, Parental Involvement and Home Environment Impact on Students' Science Academic Performance at Secondary Schools View study ↗
7 citations
Hafiz Muhammad Ihsan Zafeer et al. (2025)
This study reveals how factors outside school walls, particularly family income, parental engagement, and home learning conditions, significantly influence how well students perform in science subjects. The research provides valuable insights for teachers working with disadvantaged pupils, showing why understanding students' home circumstances is crucial for supporting their academic progress. These findings are particularly relevant for schools using pupil premium funding to address the achievement gap in STEM subjects.
Fostering young students' writing skill development and self-regulation through Dynamic Assessment feedback during pandemic disruptions View study ↗
Angelie Ignacio et al. (2024)
Research on the BalanceAI tutoring programme shows how technology-enhanced feedback can help disadvantaged students, including those with special needs and English language learners, recover writing skills that suffered during pandemic disruptions. The study demonstrates that targeted, personalised feedback systems can be particularly effective for vulnerable student populations who experienced the greatest learning losses. This evidence supports schools in making informed decisions about technology investments using pupil premium funding to address post-pandemic learning gaps.
Parental socioeconomic status, school physical facilities availability, and students' academic performance View study ↗
9 citations
Basilius Redan Werang et al. (2024)
This Indonesian study confirms that both family wealth and school infrastructure quality directly impact student achievement, reinforcing the importance of addressing physical learning environments alongside socioeconomic disadvantage. The research highlights how improved school facilities can help level the playing field for students from lower-income families. These findings support headteachers in justifying pupil premium spending on learning environment improvements as a strategy to boost outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Pupil Premium Plus for Children in Care View study ↗
Benjamin Taylor (2024)
This comprehensive study examines how schools and virtual school heads use pupil premium plus funding specifically for looked-after children, exploring the planning processes, interventions, and monitoring approaches that make the biggest difference. The research provides practical insights into effective strategies for supporting this highly vulnerable group who face unique educational challenges. Teachers and designated staff will find valuable guidance on how to maximise the impact of this specialised funding stream.
Breaks in the chain: using theories of social practise to interrogate professionals' experiences of administering Pupil Premium Plus to support looked after children View study ↗
1 citations
Stuart Read et al. (2022)
Drawing on experiences from 140 virtual school heads and designated teachers, this study identifies the practical challenges professionals face when managing pupil premium plus funding for looked-after children, including navigating complex paperwork and measuring intervention success. The research reveals critical gaps in training and support that hinder effective use of this vital funding stream. These findings will resonate with teachers and leaders responsible for supporting care-experienced pupils, offering insights into improving systems and processes.
As a headteacher, making strategic decisions about pupil premium spending can feel overwhelming, especially when you're accountable for demonstrating measurable impact on your most disadvantaged students' outcomes. The pressure to allocate these vital funds effectively whilst navigating competing priorities and limited budgets means every pound must count towards closing the attainment gap. Whether you're planning your next academic year's spending strategy or reviewing current interventions, the key lies in evidence-based approaches that target the root causes of underachievement rather than just the symptoms. But which interventions actually deliver the best return on investment, and how can you ensure your pupil premium strategy transforms educational outcomes rather than simply ticking boxes?
This source of funding is a government initiative designed to improve educational outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The aim of Pupil Premium is to ensure that every child receives a fair start in life and reaches their full potential. To achieve this goal, the Government provides additional funding to schools serving pupils from poorer families. This extra cash helps teachers to give these children extra support throughout their school career. This includes providing them with specialist teaching staff, better resources, and improved facilities. Pupil Premium is available to primary schools across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To find out more visit www.pupilpremium.gov.uk.
The pupil premium is given to enable disadvantaged students to be supported to achieve their potential and have opportunities and experiences to support this. Although the state allocates this additional school funding, school leaders are responsible for using and distributing this additional funding after checking the students' eligibility for pupil premium funding in their schools. They may use all of the grants on to school or save some for funding activities to benefit any specific group, or all, of the looked after children in the school.
This targeted financial support can be used in a range of different ways within an education setting. The family circumstances can often be complex and schools need to provide unique support and provision for pupils entitled to this funding stream. The educational benefit depends upon how the extra funding is used. Organisations like the education endowment foundation provide guidance on where to focus provision. The Department for education also provides guidance but ultimately it is the school that makes the decision about the type and quality of provision.
As well as the statutory guidance for school leaders, there are plenty of independent articles providing guidance resources for senior leaders. Whether you are looking at building an extra provision for children in reception or exploring how your community of teachers can be more creative in narrowing the attainment gap, we're sure this article will provide you with some answers.
The pupil premium funding is distributed on basis of the number of students who are registered in the following categories (2024-25 rates):
The government allocates £1,050 for each secondary school child eligible to receive free school meals in the last 6 years, also specified as the Ever 6 FSM.
The state has allocated £2,570 for each of the secondary or primary school eligible children who were previously under the care of local authority through adoption, through child arrangements order or special guardianship order.
The publicly funded schools of the United Kingdom are eligible to receive pupil premium grants, mainly including:
The government contends that schools leaders are the best to know the needs and annual income of their students' families. Hence, school leaders, mainly including, the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), how to use the pupil premium grant in their schools.
As suggested by the Education Endowment Foundation, several school leaders acquire a three-tier strategy to the pupil premium funding which divides the grant into three categories:
Although some publicly-funded schools decide to use their model, the main objective to close the attainment gap remains at the top. State-funded schools often explore intervention strategies as a way of scaffolding learning for the most disadvantaged. Suitable intervention strategies might include the adoption of the Universal Thinking Framework that makes learning more accessible to everyone. This type of inclusive practise means that all pupils, regardless of family income, can access education.
curriculum" width="auto" height="auto" id="">
Schools are required to maintain transparency by indicating how they are using the pupil premium funding. Some of the most important ways include:
The service pupil premium is also another kind of extra funding for schools, but it does not depend upon the disadvantage. The service pupil premium is added into pupil premium grants to allow schools to manage their spending more conveniently.
Schools are expected to receive £340 in 2024-25 and £340 in 2024-25 for students:
The main purpose of Service children premium is to provide disadvantaged pupils with pastoral care.
Schools may spend pupil premium money to benefit non-eligible pupils. Schools can utilize their grant where ever they have the greatest need. For instance, pupil premium might be spent on those students who do not fulfil school meal criteria but:
Spending Pupil Premium payments for improving teaching quality is the most useful way to benefit disadvantaged pupils under special guardianship. In this way, schools might inevitably help non- eligible pupils too.
The state does not allocate pupil premium grants on basis of children's academic success in school. Local authorities and schools are provided with the funding according to the total number of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for special guardianship.
It is because academically able students of low income families can also be at extreme risk of under-performance. Children eligible to receive pupil premium are the children from families in need, and they deserve just as much attention as less academically able students.
The pupil premium grant is a state initiative to provide additional funding to disadvantaged pupils, to reduce the inequalities between children. Research shows that children belonging to low income families normally face more challenges in achieving their potential and mostly, they do not perform as well in education as other students. The pupil premium enables these children to be supported to attain their potential and have opportunities and experiences to support this.
Understanding pupil premium eligibility is crucial for accurate budget planning and ensuring no child misses out on additional support. The funding covers distinct groups of disadvantaged pupils, each with specific qualifying criteria that schools must verify through their management information systems.
The largest category includes pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) or those who have been eligible at any point in the last six years, often referred to as 'Ever 6 FSM'. These students attract £1,455 per primary pupil and £1,035 per secondary pupil annually. Schools should regularly cross-reference their FSM registers with local authority data, as some families don't claim despite eligibility, potentially losing thousands in funding.
Looked-after children (LAC) and previously looked-after children form another key group, receiving £2,570 per pupil. This higher rate reflects their often complex needs and the additional support required. Virtual school heads typically oversee this funding, working closely with designated teachers to create personalised education plans that address trauma-informed learning approaches.
Service children receive £335 per pupil through the Service Pupil Premium (SPP), recognising the unique challenges of military family life. Many headteachers find success by establishing dedicated pastoral support groups where service children can connect with peers experiencing similar transitions and deployment-related anxieties.
To maximise your allocation, implement termly eligibility checks using parent communication systems and work with your local authority's benefits team to identify potentially eligible families. Consider hosting informal coffee mornings where staff can discreetly discuss FSM applications with parents who might be reluctant to apply due to stigma or misunderstanding about the process.
As a headteacher, you're accountable for pupil premium spending through multiple channels, with Ofsted inspections forming the most visible aspect of this oversight. Inspectors will scrutinise not just how you've allocated funds, but crucially, the impact these investments have made on disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment. They'll examine your school's data dashboards, tracking systems, and intervention records to assess whether spending decisions translate into improved outcomes.
Your governing body plays a vital role in this accountability framework. Governors should receive termly reports detailing pupil premium expenditure, intervention effectiveness, and progress data for disadvantaged pupils. Consider presenting this information through clear impact statements; for instance, showing how £15,000 invested in small-group literacy support led to an average reading age improvement of 18 months for participating Year 7 pupils. This evidence-based approach strengthens governance and prepares you for external scrutiny.
The statutory requirement to publish your pupil premium strategy on your school website creates public accountability. This document must outline your planned spending, rationale for chosen approaches, and success criteria. Update it annually with actual impact data, creating a transparent record of your stewardship. For example, if you've invested in breakfast clubs, include attendance figures showing improved punctuality rates amongst disadvantaged pupils, alongside academic progress metrics.
Additionally, the DfE monitors pupil premium effectiveness through performance tables and the annual school census. Your disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8 scores, Attainment 8 results, and EBacc entry rates all feed into national datasets that compare schools' effectiveness in supporting these learners. This data becomes particularly significant when your school faces inspection or when parents evaluate school choices, making strategic, evidence-informed spending essential for maintaining your school's reputation and fulfilling your moral obligation to these pupils.
Service pupil premium provides additional funding of £335 per eligible pupil to support children from military families. Unlike standard pupil premium, SPP recognises the unique challenges these students face: frequent school moves, parental deployment, and the emotional impact of service life. As a headteacher, understanding how to allocate this funding effectively requires recognising that service children's needs differ significantly from other disadvantaged groups.
The most successful SPP strategies address both academic and pastoral needs. Consider establishing a dedicated 'forces champion' within your staff team; someone who understands military life and can provide consistent support when parents deploy. Many schools create transition programmes specifically for service children, including buddy systems where existing service pupils mentor newcomers. This approach proves particularly effective when combined with visual resources like deployment calendars and communication tools that help children maintain contact with deployed parents.
Research from the University of Winchester highlights that service children often demonstrate resilience but may struggle with literacy continuity due to frequent moves. Therefore, investing SPP funding in portable learning resources works well. Digital reading programmes that children can access from any location, comprehensive handover documentation between schools, and catch-up literacy interventions all show measurable impact. Some headteachers pool SPP funding to employ specialist teaching assistants who run small group sessions focusing on gaps in learning caused by curriculum differences between schools.
Remember that SPP eligibility extends beyond deployment periods. Children qualify if a parent has served in the regular armed forces within the last six years, recognising that the impact of service life continues even after parents leave the military. This broader eligibility criterion means your SPP cohort may be larger than initially assumed, requiring careful audit of admissions data.
The funding varies significantly based on student circumstances. Primary pupils eligible for free school meals receive £1,480, secondary pupils receive £1,050, whilst both currently and previously looked-after children receive the highest rate of £2,570 per pupil.
The three-tier approach divides pupil premium spending into teaching (staff development and training), academic support (one-to-one tuition and intervention programmes), and wider educational support (addressing attendance, mental health, and extracurricular activities). This systematic framework helps schools move away from random spending towards evidence-based improvement strategies.
Schools must publish an annual strategy statement online, updated at least once yearly from the autumn term. They must also be prepared to demonstrate their strategy's effectiveness during Ofsted inspections, with inspectors frequently asking in inspections how schools support disadvantaged pupils across all subjects.
The Universal Thinking Framework approach makes learning accessible to all pupils whilst specifically addressing the needs of disadvantaged students. This inclusive practise ensures that support doesn't stigmatise particular groups and creates a scaffold that benefits everyone whilst closing the attainment gap.
The funding can address wider barriers to learning including attendance issues, social and emotional support, mental health services, and student counselling. Popular provisions also include breakfast clubs, educational trips, transport costs, and extracurricular activities that disadvantaged pupils might otherwise miss.
The £2,570 allocation for looked-after children requires completely different strategies due to their complex family circumstances and unique needs. Schools must provide more intensive, personalised support compared to the standard free school meals approach, often requiring specialist staff and tailored interventions.
Schools must show concrete examples of how their strategy impacts disadvantaged pupils across all lessons, from music to mathematics. They need performance data through published tables and clear evidence that their three-tier approach is systematically improving outcomes rather than representing random spending decisions.
These peer-reviewed studies provide the research foundation for the strategies discussed in this article:
Beyond the Classroom: How Socioeconomic Status, Parental Involvement and Home Environment Impact on Students' Science Academic Performance at Secondary Schools View study ↗
7 citations
Hafiz Muhammad Ihsan Zafeer et al. (2025)
This study reveals how factors outside school walls, particularly family income, parental engagement, and home learning conditions, significantly influence how well students perform in science subjects. The research provides valuable insights for teachers working with disadvantaged pupils, showing why understanding students' home circumstances is crucial for supporting their academic progress. These findings are particularly relevant for schools using pupil premium funding to address the achievement gap in STEM subjects.
Fostering young students' writing skill development and self-regulation through Dynamic Assessment feedback during pandemic disruptions View study ↗
Angelie Ignacio et al. (2024)
Research on the BalanceAI tutoring programme shows how technology-enhanced feedback can help disadvantaged students, including those with special needs and English language learners, recover writing skills that suffered during pandemic disruptions. The study demonstrates that targeted, personalised feedback systems can be particularly effective for vulnerable student populations who experienced the greatest learning losses. This evidence supports schools in making informed decisions about technology investments using pupil premium funding to address post-pandemic learning gaps.
Parental socioeconomic status, school physical facilities availability, and students' academic performance View study ↗
9 citations
Basilius Redan Werang et al. (2024)
This Indonesian study confirms that both family wealth and school infrastructure quality directly impact student achievement, reinforcing the importance of addressing physical learning environments alongside socioeconomic disadvantage. The research highlights how improved school facilities can help level the playing field for students from lower-income families. These findings support headteachers in justifying pupil premium spending on learning environment improvements as a strategy to boost outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Pupil Premium Plus for Children in Care View study ↗
Benjamin Taylor (2024)
This comprehensive study examines how schools and virtual school heads use pupil premium plus funding specifically for looked-after children, exploring the planning processes, interventions, and monitoring approaches that make the biggest difference. The research provides practical insights into effective strategies for supporting this highly vulnerable group who face unique educational challenges. Teachers and designated staff will find valuable guidance on how to maximise the impact of this specialised funding stream.
Breaks in the chain: using theories of social practise to interrogate professionals' experiences of administering Pupil Premium Plus to support looked after children View study ↗
1 citations
Stuart Read et al. (2022)
Drawing on experiences from 140 virtual school heads and designated teachers, this study identifies the practical challenges professionals face when managing pupil premium plus funding for looked-after children, including navigating complex paperwork and measuring intervention success. The research reveals critical gaps in training and support that hinder effective use of this vital funding stream. These findings will resonate with teachers and leaders responsible for supporting care-experienced pupils, offering insights into improving systems and processes.
