Pupil Premium and Free School Meals

What is a free school meal?

• A free school meal should provide pupils with a balanced lunch consisting of:
• A main meal, drink, and a pudding/snack.
• The meal must be fully compliant with the 2015 School Food Standards. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england
• Milk should be free of charge for those eligible for free school meals.

For Further information on Free School meals and guidance to check eligibility please click the link below

Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

The Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) is additional funding received by schools for each pupil from disadvantaged families or backgrounds. It is allocated to schools based on the number of children who come from low-income families – this is defined as those who are currently known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM). This is one of the current government’s key education policies. It is based on findings that show that, as a group, children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in time have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible.

It is important to know that a pupil does not need to have the free school meal, but the parents/carers should still check to see if they are entitled and then make a claim in order for the school to receive the PPG (see below on how to claim).

It also includes pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years; children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months; and children where a parent serves in the armed forces.

At around £1,300 per eligible pupil, this money is for schools to decide how to use in order to improve educational attainment of children from less privileged backgrounds. The pupil premium has the potential to have a great impact on the attainment, and future life chances, of pupils.

How we spend the Pupil Premium Grant

We use the PPG to provide additional educational support to improve progress and to raise the standard of achievement for these pupils.

A large proportion of our PPG is spent on additional classroom support.  Members of staff are aware of which children are eligible for the pupil premium and provide additional, frequent targeted support for these pupils.  Teachers detail the learning objectives, the different support activities, the type of support required, who leads the support (either the teacher or the teaching assistant), and who benefits from the support.

Some children are supported in other ways, e.g. benefitting from adult support in smaller learning groups, and on a one-to-one basis.

We also use the PPG to try to address any inequalities of access to paid activities, e.g. educational visits, residential visits, music lessons and extra-curricular activities.