'Grave concerns' over pupil premium changes
Fiona Simpson
Monday, March 15, 2021
Changes to the pupil premium could lead to schools losing out on a year's worth of funding for the most disadvantaged pupils, campaigners have warned.
From April, allocations for the pupil premium, which provides extra funding for pupils eligible for free school meals, care-experienced children and the children of military personnel through the service premium, will be calculated based on census results from October 2020 instead of figures recorded the following January as has been the case in previous years.
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Campaign groups, local authorities and head teachers have warned the change could see schools miss out on funding for families hit by poverty and unemployment over winter due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Department for Education says the earlier cut off date is intended to help budget planning.
Currently, more than two million pupils are eligible for the pupil premium which amounted to £2.4bn in 2020/21 and is forecast to reach £2.5bn next year.
It provides schools with an extra £1,345 per pupil in primary and £955 per pupil in secondary.
Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said: "This decision means that schools which saw an increase in children who are newly eligible for the pupil premium between November 2020 and January 2021 will lose out on one year's worth of funding for these pupils.
"This policy change looks to be poorly-timed and is likely to have huge ramifications. Given that there was a likely rise in pupil premium eligibility during this period due to the recession and rises in unemployment caused by the pandemic, this could represent a significant cash loss for schools."
Judith Blake, chair of the LGA's children and young people board, added: "It is imperative that no school should lose out in receiving pupil premium funding as a result of this administrative change.
"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.”
A statement from the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) said the move was of “grave concern to school leaders around the country”.
A DfE spokesman said: "We are committed to ensuring all children have access to good quality education, no matter their background.
"Using the October census for pupil premium allocation means schools will know their budget earlier in the year, helping them to plan ahead and we expect pupil premium funding to increase to more than £2.5bn in 2021-22."