Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium 

The Pupil Premium is a government initiative that provides extra funding for students who are currently entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) or have been entitled to them at any point in the last six years. This funding also supports children that are looked after by a local authority (CLA), those adopted from care under the Adoption and Children Act 2002, and children who have left care under a Special Guardianship or Residence Order. Additionally, students with parents in the armed forces receive extra funding. 

At Albany Academy, we utilise this funding to ensure that FSM students, CLA/adopted children, and pupils with parents in the armed forces continue to make progress and achieve high attainment. Our aim is to close the attainment and progress gap between these students and their peers. 

The PPG Rates for 2024-25 are: - 

Category 

Pupil Premium Grant amount per student 

FSM and Ever 6 

£1.050 

Looked after by the local authority or other state care. 

£2,570 

Adopted from care or have left care 

£2.570 

*please note, for CLA pupils, the PPG is held centrally by the local authority virtual school headteacher. 

Service pupil premium 

Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools with pupils who have parents serving in the armed forces. 

Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract the service pupil premium grant, at the rate of: 

• £340 per eligible pupil in the 2024 to 2025 financial year 

Pupils are eligible if they meet the following 2 criteria: 

• one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces, including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service – this includes pupils with a parent who is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England 

• they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on any school census in the past 6 years 

They would also be eligible if: 

• one of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme 

This funding is primarily to enable schools to offer pastoral support and help mitigate the negative impact of family mobility or parental deployment. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if the school deems this to be a priority. 

Which students qualify for FSM? 

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) 

Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals. 

Your child may also get free school meals if you get any of these benefits and your child is both: 

• younger than the compulsory age for starting school 

• in full-time education 

How do I apply for Free School Meals? 

• Applications in Lancashire for Free School Meals can be made online by following this link: 

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/free-school-meals/ 

• Applications in Bolton for Free School Meals can be made online by following this link: 

https://www.bolton.gov.uk/free-school-meals-clothing-allowance/free-school-meals-help-school-uniform 

How is PPG funding used at Albany? 

The PPG is not used to pay for school meals. The money we receive per student (please see PPG Rates table) is used by school to support and improve attainment. 

The following information is taken from the DfE website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium 

School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across 3 areas, with a particular focus on teaching. 

1. Teaching 

Investing in high-quality teaching, for example: 

• Training and professional development for teachers 

• Support pupils to develop learning and self-regulation strategies 

• Implement 'Embedding Formative Assessment’ practices to ensure high quality, effective and adaptive assessment across the curriculum 

2. Targeted academic support 

• Additional support for some pupils focused on their specific needs, for example: 

• Deployment of TA provision 

• Use of digital resources to support knowledge retention and retrieval. 

• Promote effective literacy through whole school strategies and individual reading support.  

3. Wider approaches 

Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges. For example: 

• Subsidised school trips and experiential learning opportunities. 

• Additional leadership time and capacity focused on providing support for disadvantaged pupils. 

• High quality, regular and aspirational careers guidance and targeted support.