What is Pupil Premium Funding?

Pupil Premium is additional funding given by the government directly to state-funded schools in England. Its purpose is to help schools raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and narrow the achievement gap between them and their peers.

Schools receive funding for every child who meets any of the following criteria:

• Free School Meals (FSM): Children who are currently registered for Free School Meals, or who have been registered at any point in the last 6 years (known as 'Ever 6 FSM').

• Looked-After Children (LAC): Children who are in the care of the local authority.

• Previously Looked-After Children (PLAC): Children who have left local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order, or a child arrangements order.

• Service Children: Children with a parent serving in the regular armed forces (funded through the Service Premium).

How is the Funding Used?

Pupil Premium funding is not allocated to individual children like a personal stipend. Instead, schools pool this money to fund high-impact support strategies that benefit eligible pupils across the school.

At our school, funding is focused on three main areas:

1. High-Quality Teaching: Investing in staff training, professional development, and teaching resources to ensure every child receives excellent classroom instruction.

2. Targeted Academic Support: Providing small-group interventions and extra speech and language or phonics support for children who need a boost.

3. Wider Strategies: Supporting children’s emotional wellbeing, attendance, and social development — including subsidising school trips, residential visits, and extra-curricular activities.

Key Changes to Free School Meals & Pupil Premium (From September 2026)

From September 2026, the government is expanding Free School Meals so that all families receiving Universal Credit qualify for free daily school lunches, regardless of their earnings. However, to make sure schools still get extra help for those who need it most, the scheme is split into two categories:

Expanded Free School Meals (which provides a free daily lunch to any Universal Credit household)

Targeted Free School Meals (for Universal Credit families earning £7,400 or less per year after tax, or those on certain qualifying legacy benefits).

The key difference for our school is that only children in the Targeted group generate extra Pupil Premium funding to support learning and subsidise trips. Because of this, if your household earns £7,400 or less, it is vital that you still officially apply online so our school receives this crucial funding for your child.

Statutory Information (DfE Requirement)

In line with Department for Education regulations, Kirkby Woodhouse School publishes:

• The amount of Pupil Premium funding received for the current academic year

• How the funding is intended to be spent

• How the previous year’s funding was spent

• The impact of Pupil Premium spending on pupils’ attainment, progress, attendance and wider outcomes

This information can be found in our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement, which is updated annually and available below. 

Pupil Premium Leadership and Accountability

• Pupil Premium Lead: Miss F McHugh (Assistant Head Teacher)

• Pupil Premium Governor: Mrs C Rickett

The Headteacher and Governing Body have a shared responsibility for ensuring that Pupil Premium funding is used effectively, represents good value for money, and has a clear, measurable impact on pupils’ outcomes.