The Pupil Premium strategy applies to ‘disadvantaged’ students within the school cohort. The term ‘disadvantaged’ refers to those young people who face particular challenges because of the economic circumstances they face when growing up.

The most commonly accepted proxy measure of such economic disadvantage is eligibility for free school meals (FSM) and this was the original qualifying criterion for Pupil Premium funding to tackle the attainment gap, introduced in 2011. Since then, the government has broadened this criterion to apply to pupils who have ever been eligible for FSM in the past 6 years (Ever-6 FSM). It also now includes other categories of children facing disadvantage, such as the children of service families and those who are looked after by local authorities. Therefore, the term ‘disadvantaged’ applies to FSM eligible pupils, Ever-6 FSM pupils or Pupil Premium pupils.

Historically there is a gap in attainment between those who are classified as disadvantaged and their non-disadvantaged peers. The gap begins in the early years and is evident when children begin school aged 5. The gap grows wider at every stage of education. It more than doubles by 9.5 months by the end of Primary School and again to 19.3 months by the end of Secondary School. This shows the importance of intervening early and then continuing to attend to the needs of disadvantaged pupils.

A majority of 19 year olds who have been eligible for free school meals leave education without a good standard of recognised English and Maths (level 4+). Whilst the attainment gap has lowered over the past decade, it remains significant. The Pupil Premium strategy is a valuable focus for closing the attainment gap. It is therefore vital that we consider how we can best use resources as a school to benefit all disadvantaged pupils in order to remove the attainment gap completely and allow all students, regardless of their economic circumstances, to achieve.