Pupil Premium is allocated to the school that the pupil is recorded as attending in the January School Census each year. Pupils must be in NCY R-11 and either solely registered or dual registered main at the time of the census.
Eligibility
There are four elements to Pupil Premium:
| Pupil Premium Category | £ per pupil | Data source to inform 2020/21 pupil premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Free School Meals (FSM) – Ever 6 Pupils aged 4 and over in NCY R to 6 Pupils in NCY 7 to 11 |
£1,345 £955 |
Pupils on roll in the Jan 2020 School Census Ever 6: recorded as eligible for FSM since May 2014 as well as those in Jan 2020 |
| 2. Post Looked After Arrangements (previously ‘Adopted from Care’) |
£2,345 | Pupils on roll in the Jan 2020 School Census |
| 3. Children in Care in care for at least one day during the year ending March 2020 aged 4 to 15 at 31 August 2019 |
£2,345 | Pupil recorded on relevant Local Authority Children Looked After Return (SSDA903) completed by Children Services. |
| 4. Service Children – Ever 6 Pupils aged 4 and over in year groups reception to year 11, or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence |
£310 | Pupils on roll in the Jan 2020 School Census Ever 6: eligible for the service child premium since Jan 2015 census as well as those recorded as a service child in the Jan 2020 census |
Payment
- Pupil premium funding is confirmed by the DfE in June each year once pupil numbers from the January census have been validated and agreed. Pupil level data is available through a data download from the Key to Success website each June.
- The January school census informs the funding for the following financial year, e.g. the Spring 2020 Census determines the pupil premium the school receives in the 2020-21 financial year.
- Pupil Premium is only allocated to pupils in NCY R-11 who are solely registered or dual registered main.
1. Free School Meals (FSM) – Ever 6
Pupils who have been recorded on any School Census in the previous six years as being eligible for Free School Meals (provided they were in NCY R-11 and either solely registered or dual registered main), are entitled to pupil premium. Pupils must have been eligible for FSM in England, periods of ‘FSM’ eligibility in other countries do not apply when determining a pupil’s eligibility for the pupil premium.
Note: a pupil can only be recorded as eligible for Free School Meals if a claim has been made and the parent is found to be eligible. This continues to be the case with the introduction of Universal Free School Meals for pupils in NCY R, 1 and 2. It will seriously affect the deprivation factor of your school budget, as well as your pupil premium, if parents of pupils in NCY R, 1 and 2 who are eligible for FSM do not claim for FSM.
There may be a few instances where a pupil, known to be eligible for free school meals, does not receive pupil premium, for example:
- The pupil was only eligible for Free School Meals whilst in a Nursery Unit.
- The pupil is Dual Registered Subsidiary or was at the time of eligibility.
- The pupil was only eligible for Free School Meals in another country of the UK e.g. Wales.
2. Post Looked after Arrangements (Previously ‘Adopted from Care’)
Pupils in NCY R to NCY 11 who fall into one of the following categories are eligible for pupil premium:
- Ceased to be looked after through adoption
- Ceased to be looked after through a special guardianship order (SGO)
- Ceased to be looked after through a residence order (RO)
- Ceased to be looked after through a child arrangement order (CAO)
The DfE advise that children can only be recorded on a school census as being adopted from care ‘where the parent self-declares their child’s status to the school, providing supporting evidence (e.g. an adoption order).’
This data item is being collected termly but the Pupil Premium will only be allocated based on the Spring Term census.
3. Children in Care
The Children in Care information is taken from the Local Authority Children Services Looked After return (SSDA903). Children will generate pupil premium funding if they have been in care for at least a day for the year up to 31 March. The School Census does not collect this information. These funds are initially allocated to the LA who will then determine how these funds will be allocated to the school.
Further information on pupil premium for Devon Local Authority Children in Care can be found on the Virtual School webpage Devon policy for pupil premium plus.
4. Service Children – Ever 6
Pupils are eligible if they have been recorded as a service child in the School Census (from Jan 2015 to Jan 2020 for the 2020-21 financial year pupil premium)*, or they are in receipt of a pension under the War Pensions Scheme (WPS) or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
* provided they are in years R-11 and are Solely Registered or Dual Registered Main
Definition of a service child:
A service child is one where the child has a parent(s) who is/are Service personnel serving in regular HM Forces military units of all forces, or in Armed Forces of another nation and stationed in England, and exercising parental care and responsibility.
Please note that the Territorial Army are not classed as the regular armed forces and, as such, these pupils should not be considered Service Children on the School Census.
The Service Children Indicator is only relevant to children whose parents are designated as Personnel Category 1 or 2. All parents will be aware of their Personnel Category.
Personal Category 1 (PStat Cat 1)
a. PStat Cat 1. Those in PStat Cat 1 will meet one of the following qualifying criteria:
(1) A legally married member of the Armed Forces, who lives with their spouse, or who would do so but for the exigencies of the Armed Forces.
(2) A member of the Armed Forces, who is registered in a civil partnership in accordance with the Civil Partnership Act 2004, or is in a civil partnership under an overseas scheme recognised under that Act, and who lives with their registered civil partner, or who would do so but for the exigencies of the Armed Forces.
Personnnel Category 2 (PStat Cat 2)
b. PStat Cat 2. Those in PStat Cat 2 will meet one of the following qualifying criteria:
A member of the Armed Forces who has parental responsibility within the terms of the Children Act 1989 for a child(ren) and who satisfies all of the following conditions:
(a) Can properly be regarded as the centre and prime mover in the life of the child(ren).
(b) Provides a home where they normally live with the child(ren) except where unable to do so for reasons attributable to their service in the Armed Forces.
(c) Provides, where the child(ren) is unable to care for itself, a child carer who can look after the child(ren) during their absences attributable to their service in the Armed Forces. The child carer must not be the other natural parent of the child(ren). The other natural parent should normally only have staying access to the child(ren) for an aggregate of 56 days in any 12 month period. Staying access greater than this may render the Service person ineligible for PStat Cat2 (these restrictions on access do not apply while on recognised Unaccompanied Duty).
(d) Accepts financial responsibility for the child(ren).
Please note: DfE validation rules do not allow a pupil to be recorded on the same census as both a Service child and as eligible for Free School Meals. If the latter is true it is likely the parent in the services does not meet the criteria set out in b.
DfE guidance on Service Pupil Premium is available from: Service Pupil Premium (SPP)
DfE guidance on Pupil Premium funding is available from: Pupil Premium 2020-2021: Conditions of Grant.