Schools in England receive extra funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

 

Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:

• generally face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
• often do not perform as well as their peers

 

The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve.

 

Schools receive pupil premium funding based on the number of pupils they have from the following groups.

• Free school meals
• Looked-after and previously looked-after children
• Children with a parent who is serving in HM Forces or has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence

 

In addition, the government has created a COVID Catch-Up Premium to support schools in managing the impact of the pandemic in 2020-21.