What is the Pupil Premium?

The pupil premium is an allocation of funding provided to schools to support children who may be vulnerable to underachievement. The amount received is dependent on the number of children who receive free school meals. All schools are required to report on the amount of funding and how this is being used.

The Government believes that Pupil Premium ‘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 also used to support children who have been adopted, who are ‘looked-after’ or who has a parent in the armed forces. At Lowedges Junior Academy we use this funding to support spending which benefits eligible children within their cohorts, rather than create individual budgets for each child. This spending significantly enhances our capacity to support children with barriers to their learning. 

Allocation & Action Plan for 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24

Please download the document, below, containing information about what Pupil Premium we have been allocated and how we plan to use it for academic year 2023/2024. This document is next due for review in September 2024.

Eligibility for the Pupil Premium

From September 2014, all children in Reception and Years 1 and 2 qualify for free school meals regardless of their family income.

Your child may be eligible for free school meals – and accordingly pupil premium – if you receive any of the following benefits, even if a child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 and/or take a packed lunch - as this enables school to claim pupil premium.

• Income support
• - Income-based jobseekers’ allowance
• - Income-related employment and support allowance
• - Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• - The guaranteed element of state pension credit
• - Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less
• - Universal credit

Apply for free school meals

If you would like any advice or support in checking eligibility for free school meals, please call into the school office to find out how you register your child(ren).

This report details how the pupil premium has been allocated at Lowedges Junior Academy.

The information above has then been shared with a variety of stakeholders, who have been able to input into the final spending plan. They include;

1. - The Head and Senior Leadership Team
2. - Middle Leaders
3. - Teachers and Support staff
4. - Governors 

Full information about the Pupil Premium can be found on the Department for Education website.

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium/b0076063/pp