‘Schools should be engines of social mobility. They should provide the knowledge, and the tools, to enable talented young people to overcome accidents of birth and an inheritance of disadvantage in order to enjoy greater opportunities’. (Department for Education).

It is for this reason that the Government have introduced the pupil premium which is allocated to schools for children of statutory school age from low-income families who are known to be eligible for Free school meals (FSM), to children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months (LAC – Looked After Child) and to children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces. In 2013-2014 this will also include pupils eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years (known as the Ever 6 FSM measure).

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. However we will rightly be held accountable for how we have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. Some of these children may be accessing support both in school or from external agencies as well as additional resources (both staff and physical) and extra-curricular opportunities paid for by school. Furthermore, some children who are not in the ‘premium’ group may be accessing similar support and using the resources which support the ‘premium’ pupils but which are good for all.