What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is additional government funding for state-funded schools in England to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

Funding is provided for:

• Pupils eligible for targeted free school meals, or who have been recorded as eligible for qualifying free school meals within the previous six years, known as Ever 6.

• Children who were previously looked after and left care through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order, including eligible children adopted from state care outside England and Wales.

• Children currently looked after by a local authority. Their funding is managed by the local authority’s Virtual School Head, working with the school.

From September 2026, free school meals eligibility expanded to all households receiving Universal Credit. Children who qualify only through this expanded entitlement do not automatically attract Pupil Premium funding. Existing Ever 6 eligibility continues for the relevant six-year period.

Further information is available in the government’s Pupil Premium guidance.

What is the intended impact?

At Ordsall, we use Pupil Premium to remove barriers to learning, strengthen achievement and help disadvantaged pupils fulfil their potential.

Our approach follows the Department for Education’s evidence-informed framework across three areas:

• High-quality teaching: developing staff expertise and effective classroom practice.

• Targeted academic support: providing additional teaching and interventions where needed.

• Wider support: addressing barriers such as attendance, social and emotional needs and wellbeing.

Support is based on pupils’ individual needs, including disadvantaged pupils who are already achieving well.

How is it used?

Pupil Premium is not a personal budget for individual children. We use it strategically to address identified needs through classroom teaching, targeted support and wider provision. Some approaches also benefit other pupils, while maintaining a clear focus on improving outcomes for disadvantaged children.

Our published Pupil Premium Strategy Statement explains our priorities, how funding is allocated and how we evaluate its impact.

Service Pupil Premium

Service Pupil Premium is separate funding for eligible children from armed forces families, including some children whose parents have recently left service.

It primarily supports pastoral needs arising from service life, such as parental deployment or moving between schools. It may also support academic progress where appropriate. Eligibility is not based on financial disadvantage.

Please contact the school office if your child is from a service family so that we can check their eligibility.