Disadvantaged children lose out on £118m due to pupil premium changes, LGA reveals
Fiona Simpson
Friday, May 21, 2021
A total of £118m for disadvantaged pupils could be lost from school budgets in England this year due to a government change in how pupil premium funding is calculated, a survey of local authorities has revealed.
The funding, which is designed to improve attainment for the most disadvantaged pupils, amounts to £1,345 a year for every eligible primary school-age pupil, or £955 for every eligible secondary-age pupil.
-
Related news: One in three schools 'using pupil premium funding to plug budget gaps'
-
Blog: Pupil premium changes will make schools' jobs tougher
It has previously been calculated using schools census data from January of any given year, however, last year the government announced that pupil premium funding for 2021/22 would be calculated using data from the October 2020 schools census as opposed to the January 2021 census.
According to the Local Government Association (LGA), this means that schools will miss out on an entire years’ worth of funding.
An LGA survey of 72 of the 151 councils in England combined with analysis of government census figures shows that this change could result in a loss of pupil premium funding of around £93 million for primary schools and £25 million for secondary schools.
This equates to an average loss of around £600,000 in primary school funding per local authority area, the research shows.
Teresa Heritage, vice Chairman of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “There will be many schools with children who will have become eligible for pupil premium between October and January who will now not qualify for this extra funding for a whole year.
“The pupil premium is vital to support the government’s levelling up agenda and education recovery plans. It is imperative that the government ensures that no school loses out in receiving this vital funding this year and that no child is left behind.”