Pupil Premium
At Woodlands Primary School we have uncompromisingly high aspirations for all our children and believe that every child should be given the opportunity to achieve. We believe that the curriculum should be tailored to our children and give them experiences that they will always remember. We use our ‘Key Drivers’ : To have real world experiences; To have high aspirations; To be responsible global citizens and To support mental and physical well-being to ensure that all our children’s needs are met and they all realise their full potential.
We are helped to achieve our high standards through government funding as well as using money from the school’s budget. This funding takes different forms but one of them is through the pupil premium grant.
What is Pupil Premium?
Pupil Premium is additional money allocated to schools over and above the main school budget. For each child who is eligible for a Free School Meal (FSM) (or have been in the last 6 years); who are Looked After Children or whose parents are in the armed forces, a set allocation of money is given to schools.
The rationale is as follows:
“The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most. It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be.”
Eligibility Criteria
Parents/guardians in England do not have to pay for school meals if they receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guarantee element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190) - Working Tax Credit is a disqualifying benefit regardless of your household income - this means that you would not be entitled to Free School Meals whilst in receipt of Working Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
- Received free school meal benefit at any point since April 2018 for the child you are applying for (details of previous school and borough)
If you think your child may possibly be eligible for free school meals, even if you don't want your child to eat school meals, please call the office for more information or apply to the local authority via the link below. Every child who is eligible generates valuable income for the school.
