Pupil Premium Including Recovery Premium
BackPupil Premium
What is Pupil Premium?
Pupil Premium is additional funding for schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.
Purpose
Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.
Funding paid to schools
School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium.
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
- recruitment and retention
- support for teachers early in their careers
2. Targeted academic support
Additional support for some pupils focussed on their specific needs, for example:
- one-to-one tuition
- small group tuition
- speech and language therapy
3. Wider approaches
Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges. For example:
- school breakfast clubs
- counselling to support emotional health and wellbeing
- help with the cost of educational trips or visits
Read the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) pupil premium guide for information about the tiered approach to spending.
Non-Eligible Pupils
Schools can spend their pupil premium on pupils who do not meet the eligibility criteria but need extra support.
More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium
Recovery Premium
Purpose
In February 2021, the government announced a one-off recovery premium as part of its package of funding to support education recovery.
The recovery premium provides additional funding for state-funded schools in the 2021 to 2022 academic year. Building on the pupil premium, this funding will help schools to deliver evidence-based approaches for supporting disadvantaged pupils.
Pupil eligibility
The recovery premium will be allocated using the same data as the pupil premium. This means the following pupils will attract recovery premium funding to schools:
- pupils who are eligible for free school meals (FSM)
- pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years
- children looked after by local authorities and referred to as looked-after children (LAC)
- post looked-after children (post-LAC)
Using recovery premium funding
Schools should spend this premium on evidence-based approaches to support pupils. In line with the Education Endowment Foundation’s pupil premium guide, activities should include those that:
- support the quality of teaching, such as staff professional development
- provide targeted academic support, such as tutoring
- deal with non-academic barriers to success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support
Like the pupil premium, schools can:
- spend the recovery premium on a wider cohort of pupils than those who attract the funding
- direct recovery premium spending where they think the need is greatest
For further information, read our guidance on using pupil premium.
As with pupil premium, funding for looked-after children should be managed by the local authority virtual school head. They should work with schools, including the designated teacher, to decide how to use the funding effectively to support looked-after children.
More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recovery-premium-funding/recovery-premium-funding
- Pupil Premium Including Recovery Premium
