The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
Today I am confirming the pupil premium final allocations for the 2013 to 2014 financial year and pupil premium allocations for the 2014 to 2015 financial year. The figures for 2014 to 2015 use early pupil data and will be updated when final pupil numbers are confirmed.
Final pupil premium allocations for the 2013-14 financial year
We now have the final figures for the number of pupils eligible for the premium, which means we are able to provide primary schools with an extra £53 to the end of the financial year for every primary pupil who is currently eligible for free school meals (FSM) or has been eligible for FSM in the past six years (FSM “Ever 6”). This is on top of the £900 primary schools currently receive for each of their FSM Ever 6 pupils. Primary schools will be able to use this additional funding to further raise pupil attainment. Secondary FSM Ever 6 and looked-after children will continue to attract a premium of £900 and service children attract a premium of £300.
Final pupil premium allocation tables for the 2013 to 2014 financial year based on these rates are available on the Department’s website for each local authority, parliamentary constituency and school.
Pupil premium allocations for the 2014-15 financial year
In the 2014 to 2015 financial year, the total pupil premium budget will increase from £1.875 billion to £2.5 billion. I am pleased to confirm that this rise in funding will enable us to increase substantially the funding per pupil for primary school pupils, allowing schools to intervene early, where the impact is greatest. From next year, primary FSM Ever 6 pupils will attract £1,300 which will help primary schools raise attainment and ensure that every child is ready for the move to secondary school. Meanwhile, we will allocate £935 for secondary FSM Ever 6 pupils.
In the 2014 to 2015 financial year, the pupil premium plus for looked-after children will have more than doubled, from £900 in 2013-14 to £1,900 per pupil. We are also extending eligibility to include those who have been looked after for one day or more, as compared with the six months in care currently required. The role of the virtual school head will be enhanced to ensure that, as the “corporate parent” of looked-after children, the virtual school head works closely with schools to ensure the funding is used to maximum effect.
We will, for the first time, include children who have been adopted from care or leave care under a special guardianship or residence order. This change recognises that the needs of those children who leave care do not change overnight. Schools will receive £1,900 for each eligible pupil adopted from care who has been registered on the school census and the additional funding will enable schools to offer pastoral care as well as raising pupil attainment.
We are continuing to support children with parents in the armed forces through the service child premium. In the 2014 to 2015 financial year, the service child premium will be set at £300 per pupil and we are continuing to expand the protection for pupils previously attracting the service child premium since its introduction in April 2011 whose parents are no longer in the armed forces or where parents have divorced. We will also continue to fund schools in respect of children of parents who were killed in action. These changes will mean an increase in the number of children eligible for the service premium from around 45,000 in 2011 to over 60,000 in 2014.
Illustrative 2014 to 2015 financial year allocations for each local authority, parliamentary constituency and school are available on the Department’s website. These will be updated when data from the January 2014 school census becomes available.