The government believes that the pupil premium, which is provided in addition to main funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between disadvantaged and their peers by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most and has provided Pupil Premium funding since April 2011. The government has allocated schools a sum of money which is called the ‘Pupil Premium’. This is to ensure that all pupils, from Reception through to Year 11, are given the same opportunities to achieve and so that no pupil is disadvantaged due to economic or social circumstances. The amount of the grant for pupils in secondary education is £1050 per pupil and £340 for students who have a parent working in the armed forces, whilst the premium for looked after children and those adopted from care is £2,570.
The three identified groups entitled to the Pupil Premium are: