The impact of socio-economic disadvantage on the education outcomes of children and young people is one of the biggest challenges facing society. In 2023, 4.3 million children in the UK are living in poverty, almost a third of all children. Services across many different sectors are responding to an acute need. Just one example of this is data that shows a fifth of UK schools have set up a food bank for families since March 2020.
It's crucial that we redouble efforts to tackle the corrosive long-term impact of disadvantage on children. In England, the “disadvantage gap” starts early and persists. The latest data from the Department for Education shows that reception-aged children eligible for free school meals were 20 percentage points less likely to be at a good level of development than their peers. At the same time, GCSE students eligible for free school meals were 27 percentage points less likely to achieve good passes in English and maths. The gap is wider still for children who have lived in poverty for longer.
We are still understanding the longer term impact of Covid-19 in education, but evidence from the Education Policy Institute shows that the pandemic had a substantially more negative impact on educational outcomes for disadvantaged children than for their peers.
Key lever
The pupil premium is the key lever for tackling the disadvantage attainment gap in English schools. Since 2011, the government has provided schools with annual funding to spend on improving academic outcomes for every one of their disadvantaged children. Pupil premium funding is calculated per head, and schools claim it for children eligible for free school meals at any time in the last six years, those with no recourse to public funds, and looked-after and previously looked-after children.
In March, the DfE published their updated guidance and conditions of grant for the pupil premium. Now, as summer approaches, many school leaders will be considering how to renew and refresh their pupil premium strategies.
At the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), we hear from schools where pupil premium funds are being used successfully to improve outcomes for their disadvantaged pupils. The starting point for any effective pupil premium strategy is gaining a thorough understanding of your disadvantaged pupils’ level of attainment and then identifying any potential barriers that could be hindering them.
School leaders and governing bodies select approaches based on best evidence of what works; a helpful starting point is our own Teaching and Learning Toolkit, which summarises the best available evidence on the impact and cost-effectiveness of different approaches (see case studies). In making spending decisions, leaders combine their understanding of the evidence base with deep understanding of the specific needs of their own communities, and expert professional judgment.
Our Guide to the Pupil Premium is a practical tool to help leaders to develop their approach. It suggests that schools apportion spend in three areas – high-quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies for addressing barriers to learning – as part of a tiered approach.
The EEF tiered model of pupil premium spending
High-quality teaching
Placing an effective teacher in every classroom and supporting them to continually develop their practice should be schools’ top priority for pupil premium spending. EEF evidence consistently shows that universal teaching practices – such as giving pupils meaningful ongoing feedback and teaching them key strategies for learning – improve outcomes for all pupils, but have an especially positive impact on the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Schools should invest in professional development, provide quality support for new teachers, and consider how to recruit and retain the most talented staff.
Targeted academic support
Some children benefit from additional support tailored to their specific needs to meet their potential. For example, our evidence demonstrates that tutoring – whether one-to-one, delivered in small groups, or within a peer tutoring scheme – helps pupils make substantial further progress.
Wider strategies
Disadvantaged pupils might face a range of barriers to learning. It might be harder for them to access learning at home, there may be fewer opportunities for cultural experiences, or they may have difficulties with attendance or behaviour. Schools should consider spending a portion of their pupil premium funds on evidence-informed strategies to overcome these barriers – such as social and emotional learning, access to extra-curricular activities, and parental engagement.
Our tiered model of pupil premium spend helps steer schools away from potential pitfalls. Risky misconceptions which have circulated in previous years include a mistaken belief that only pupil premium-eligible pupils may benefit from activities it funds, or that pupil premium funding can only be spent on interventions to supplement pupils’ experience in the classroom. It's unfortunate that where these misunderstandings have occurred, they may have steered schools away from spending pupil premium funding on the best strategy for improving outcomes for disadvantaged children: excellent teaching.
The best pupil premium strategies are intrinsically tied to whole-school improvement plans. In fact, some school leaders tell us that their pupil premium strategy drives school improvement at every level, because what is best for disadvantaged pupils is best for all pupils.
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Kate Burls is policy manager and Nancy Shaw policy officer at the Education Endowment Foundation
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The Education Endowment Foundation is an independent charity dedicated to tackling the disadvantage gap through better use of evidence in schools, colleges and nurseries
Examples of how the pupil premium is being used successfully across England
Grange School, Manchester
Grange School is a special school for children diagnosed with autism from the early years foundation stage through to key stage 5. The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above national average.
It draws upon evidence that specifically supports pupils with autism. For example, the Ambitious for Autism's “Coronavirus and Lockdown: the impact on autistic children and young people” survey has helped inform its strategic response.
Grange School recognises that regardless of school context, high-quality teaching is the most important lever that schools have to improve outcomes for all pupils. It uses the Education Endowment Foundation's Teaching and Learning Toolkit to prioritise areas for development, such as mastery learning and teaching assistant-led interventions. The development of metacognition and self-regulation is a key feature of its strategic plan for targeted academic support. It offers specialist interventions such as occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, while also providing an array of other supportive interventions run by professionals, such as a music therapist. These specialists also work closely with the teaching and learning team to ensure that best practice is embedded throughout its teaching.
Mary Webb School and Science College, Shropshire
Mary Webb School and Science College is a small community secondary school. The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium in the school is 22 per cent, in line with the national average.
Its core aim of opening learners’ minds and expanding the breadth of their experiences underpins much of the school's work, and the support provided to disadvantaged pupils. A key component of the strategy is to prioritise high-quality teaching, so that it broadens the horizons of pupils.
A school professional development plan has been created that includes teachers, teaching assistants, and early career teacher mentoring.
Timetabled sessions are allocated to collaborative work to develop this plan, both across the whole school and in specific departments.
The strategy is implemented by ensuring that targeted, expert support is available to staff, and that subject-specific expertise informs decision-making. Pastoral and special educational needs and disabilities teams work with subject leaders to identify pupils who would benefit from small group or bespoke support, such as reading interventions or subject-specific approaches.
To ensure the pupil premium strategy is being implemented effectively, a pupil premium learning mentor ensures the school has expertise to closely monitor key data, such as pupils’ attendance, or the attendance of parents and carers at information evenings.
Wilbury Primary School, Enfield
Wilbury Primary School is a four-form entry school for children aged two to 11 in north London, with an above-average pupil premium-eligible pupil intake.
The school strives for continuous improvement through an open and enthusiastic culture of learning for staff and children. This approach focuses on the learning needs of disadvantaged children and the school's ambitions for every child. The current priority for these pupils is to develop language skills. As such, the school is refining teaching practice in this area, while also providing targeted interventions to struggling learners both prior to, and at the end of, the school day.
The leadership team play a significant role in evaluating progress through ongoing, and crucially, supportive monitoring and quality assurance. They devote time to staff for collaborative team planning, teaching and modelling by spending time in classrooms to provide on the spot coaching, training and immediate feedback to develop practice.
The impact of this is measured by pupils’ outcomes in class, and in specific speech, language and communication assessments. A clear, shared understanding of strategic milestones and goals means quality assurance is unequivocally purposeful, transparent and focused on improving teaching and learning.
