the pupil premium is a grant given by the government to schools in england to decrease the attainment gap for the most disadvantaged children , whether by income or by family upheaval .

for each pupil who is eligible for free school meals , their school receives £ 1,320 ( if a primary school ) or £ 935 ( if a secondary school ) .

schools receive an extra premium of £ 1,900 for pupils : in local authority care adopted from care ( and the parent self-declares ) were in care in the last year , which ceased by virtue of a special guardianship order ( and the guardian self-declares ) , residence order or child arrangement order .

service children also receive an allocation of £ 300 , if a parent is serving in the armed forces or is in receipt of a service pension .

the pupil premium was introduced in 2011 by the conservative — liberal democrat coalition government at £ 488 per pupil .

it increased to £ 600 per pupil in 2012 – 13 and eligibility was extended to pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years ( known as the ' ever 6 ' free school meals measure ) .

pupil premium

any school can commission a pupil premium review to look at its pupil premium strategy and identify ways they can use the funding more effectively .
the ‘ pupil premium 2016 to 2017 : conditions of grant ’ show the conditions that academies and local authorities must meet to receive the pupil premium .
pupil premium : allocations and conditions of grant 2016 to 2017 - gov . uk
pupil premium : allocations and conditions of grant 2017 to 2018 - gov . uk
you can find information on schools that have been recognised for their successful use of the premium on the pupil premium awards website .
a guide for effective pupil premium reviews has been developed by the teaching schools council .
the teaching schools council has produced templates to help schools present their pupil premium strategy .
pupil premium funding allocations and conditions of grant for the financial year 2016 to 2017 .
a pupil premium review looks at how your school is spending its pupil premium funding . the purpose of the review is to improve your school’s pupil premium strategy , so that you spend the funding on approaches shown to be effective in improving the achievement of disadvantaged pupils .
22 february 2017 updated to include information on pupil premium for financial year 2017 to 2018 .
13 november 2014 added information about pupil premium funding for the 2015 to 2016 financial year .
for more details of successful pupil premium strategies , visit my blogs at john dunford consulting .
please be aware that a child must reside with the applicant to receive the pupil premium .
schools maintained by the local authority must publish their strategy for using the pupil premium on their website .
12 february 2015 added details of pupil premium allocations and payment dates . also updated information on accountability .
8 september 2016 updated information on pupil premium reviews and what information schools need to publish on their websites .
the pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in england to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils .
31 march 2017 added ‘pupil premium 2016 to 2017 : local - authority - and parliamentary - constituency - level allocations’ and ‘pupil premium 2016 to 2017 : school - level allocations’ documents to show data up to march 2017 .
read more guidance on the pupil premium , including how schools should spend it and how we hold them accountable .
the pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in england to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils . more guidance is available on the pupil premium , including how schools should spend it and how we hold them accountable .
the conditions of grant document details the conditions that academies and local authorities must meet to receive the pupil premium .
we pay pupil premium funding to your local authority in quarterly instalments , and they pass the funding on to you .
4 july 2017 we have published numbers of students eligible for pupil premium funding in the 2017 to 2018 financial year .
ofsted will recommend that a school commissions a pupil premium review if they identify concerns with the school’s provision for disadvantaged pupils .
26 august 2016 updated the conditions of grant to include dates of payments of pupil premium grant to academies and free schools .
detailed school and local authority level allocations , conditions of grant for pupil premium funding in the 2017 to 2018 financial year .
29 march 2018 we ' ve updated the pupil premium 2017 to 2018 allocations to refect the latest figures at march 2018 .
at her school , there is a pupil premium lead governor who meets every term with the deputy head , and the curriculum and staffing committee on which wespieser sits regularly asks detailed questions about the needs , progress and composition of pupil premium cohorts .
in addition to the toolkit , national reviews of successful practice with pupil premium have produced considerable evidence of what works best .
the teaching schools council has published templates to support schools in presenting their pupil premium strategies . use of the templates is voluntary .
it’s up to you to make the arrangements with the reviewer . the guide for effective pupil premium reviews can support this process .
the pupil premium has failed to close the attainment gap between children from deprived backgrounds and their richer classmates , new research claims .
we’ve published pupil premium allocations for the 2018 to 2019 financial year . these are based on data from the january 2018 school census .
bad news story number four is that the government’s 2019 spending review is not far away and , if the pupil premium is to continue after 2020 , the school system will need to be able to justify the £12 billion or so spent on pupil premium since 2011 .
school leaders and teachers with a strong moral purpose have used the pupil premium grant to make a big impact on progress and attainment .
the pupil premium was introduced to help reduce the achievement gap in reading in writing in primary or early secondary school . photograph : alamy
the new figures come after it emerged that prime minister david cameron’s pledge to maintain current levels of per - pupil funding – albeit not rising in line with inflation – does not include the pupil premium .
in some settings , this can be a challenge . marc rowland , director of the national education trust and author of a practical guide to the pupil premium , says governors’ understanding of of the issues around pupil premium is patchy and often results in ad - hoc spending .
how is pupil premium spending audited ? we relay advice from one of our associate education experts , who explains that an audit of pupil premium spending should detail all uses of the grant . we also link to examples of audit reports from primary , secondary and special schools .
if your child is in year 3 or above and receives free school meals the school will automatically get a pupil premium amount for them .
how much pupil premium funding schools and non - mainstream schools receive , how they should spend it , and how we hold them to account .
ofsted ’s school inspections report on the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils who attract the pupil premium . read the ofsted inspection framework and handbook .
“it’s a mistake to group all pupil premium pupils together , ” says richardson . “some will be achieving at expected levels , some will be exceeding them , they’ll have different strengths and weaknesses . people assume that pupil premium funding is used for interventions such as summer schools , catch - up sessions and one - to - one teaching . but the core of pupil premium should be around the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom . ”
introduced in 2011 , the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children .
the lac numbers are updated in december 2016 ( as set out in paragraph 10 below ) . this means that some schools could see a small reduction in the number of ever 6 fsm pupils counted for their pupil premium allocation , if the pupil is identified as lac in the update . in these cases the schools concerned would see a reduction in their pupil premium allocation .
at the education endowment foundation ( eef ) , which together with the sutton trust published the report pupil premium : next steps ( pdf ) , senior analyst james richardson says governors need to develop their skills in three essential areas : interpreting pupil data , examining the evidence on what interventions have been shown to work and evaluating the results of pupil premium spending in their school .
the education endowment foundation ( eef ) has produced a teaching and learning toolkit to help teachers and schools use the pupil premium effectively to support disadvantaged pupils .
spending the pupil premium on other things and not improving the lot of disadvantaged young people are the quickest ways to losing the extra funding from 2020 onwards .
the pupil premium is additional school funding for disadvantaged children . it is paid directly to your child ' s school to improve the quality of their education .
all children at this age are eligible for free school meals so you will need to apply separately for the pupil premium for your child ' s school .
you can pay for the review , and any subsequent follow - up or support , using your pupil premium funding or any other part of your school’s budget .
although the conservatives have not announced any plans to axe the pupil premium , the party has as yet made no firm public commitment to future levels of funding .
schools can choose how to spend their pupil premium money , as they are best placed to identify what would be of most benefit to the children who are eligible .
the social , moral and educational case for giving additional support to children born less fortunate than others remains as strong as ever . every school needs a pupil premium champion .
pupil premium funding is a precious resource for headteachers in these cash - strapped times . it can be spent at the discretion of the school , but this freedom comes with a crucial condition attached : the attainment of children who attract pupil premium must improve . if not , the governing body will face the ire of ofsted at the next inspection .
pupil premium funding is allocated for each financial year , but the information you publish online should refer to the academic year , as this is how parents understand the school system .
the eef has created a pupil premium toolkit to help schools decide how to spend money . it contains a useful graphic , which maps the cost of interventions against their effectiveness .
the evidence of what works is there for all to see , but it needs to be disseminated . there will be no national pupil premium champion to do this , as i have tried to do since 2013 . the education endowment foundation will continue to fly the pupil premium flag , but regional school commissioners , local authorities , multi - academy trusts and teaching school alliances will need to have pupil premium at or near the top of their priorities if individual schools are to be adequately supported in their work with disadvantaged young people .
if your child qualifies for free school meals , it’s important that you tell their school – even if they take a packed lunch – as this enables them to claim pupil premium .
nearly a third of schools are using pupil premium to plug the holes in their budget this year , according to the sutton trust annual survey of teachers , published on 12 april .
john dunford is chair of whole education , a former secondary head , general secretary of the association of school and college leaders and national pupil premium champion . he tweets as @ johndunford
as national pupil premium champion , i have emphasised the need to put special effort into two categories of pp - eligible pupils – looked - after children and bright disadvantaged young people .
the coalition vowed to tackle the attainment gap when it introduced the pupil premium in april 2011 to commit extra financial resources for children from poorer backgrounds . an extra £488 per eligible pupil was allocated in 2011 - 12 , rising to £623 in 2012 - 13 . in the current financial year , the sums are £900 per eligible pupil in secondary education and £953 in primary school .
the second data file displays the numbers of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding in the 2017 to 2018 financial year at school level . this spreadsheet includes a tool to display individual schools’ records .
what governors should ask for , suggests richardson , is the evidence behind particular strategies . decisions on pupil premium spending should be part of a plan for the entire school , though with a tight focus on the needs of the most vulnerable children . “pupil premium isn’t just a bolt - on , ” says richardson , “although because of the separate accountability aspect , people think it is . ”
“we did have to ask quite specifically for a list of interventions , because there are quite a lot being used - and so understanding what the pupil premium goes towards can be quite complex . ”
the pupil premium is a good idea that could help to improve our schools . but it needs to be focused on targeted interventions in primary and early secondary school to really narrow the achievement gap .
analysis of the latest gcse results by thinktank demos suggests that the national attainment divide has widened slightly since last year , despite significant government investment in the pupil premium . in 2014 - 15 , £2 . 5 billion was allocated to schools to support pupils from lower - income households through the premium .
this is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers . often , children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills , lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality . the pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible , helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates .
the government has introduced some new funding streams to help schools fund these sort of programmes . schools now receive a ' pupil premium ' of around £600 for every child who is on free school meals . there is also a ' catch - up premium ' for secondary schools , which is worth up to £500 for every pupil who enters year 7 below national curriculum level 4 in english and maths .
“while we are still learning about the most effective use of the pupil premium , atl would be dismayed to hear that the principle of supporting those who most need help is under threat , ” she added .
however , some schools use their pupil premium in more creative ways . in the annual pupil premium awards , recent winners spent their money on a bike for a child who was repeatedly late for school due to missing the bus , a nutritionist for a year 5 child whose poor diet was causing behavioural and learning difficulties , and shoes and school uniform – including a pe kit – for a disadvantaged child in year 3 .
the vsh should ensure there are arrangements in place to discuss how the child will benefit from pupil premium funding with the designated teacher or another member of staff in the child’s education setting who best understands their needs .
“as a governor , you first of all need to be really clear about how many children come under the pupil premium , ” says gillian allcroft , deputy chief executive at the national governors’ association ( nga ) .
the trouble is that the pupil premium is spread too thinly . it would be better if resources are targeted where they make most difference – and that is in primary and early secondary school . the government should concentrate its planned £1 . 25bn increase in the pupil premium over the next two years on primary schools and the catch - up premium for secondary schools . meanwhile the pupil premium in secondary schools would be held at its current level . this would be tough for secondary school budgets , but in a time of unprecedented government cuts it is necessary to protect those things that are priorities . this move would enable schools to provide effective literacy interventions for pupils aged six to 12 , something that has been shown to be very important for raising attainment .
the first data file displays the numbers of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding in the 2017 to 2018 financial year . there are separate tabs on this spreadsheet displaying numbers nationally , by local authority , and by parliamentary constituency .
if your child is eligible for free school meals , they may also be entitled to a sum of money paid to their school to boost their learning . we explain the ins and outs of the pupil premium for parents .
my short answer to that is no . pupil premium is a heineken policy , reaching the disadvantaged children – particularly in small towns and rural areas – that previous policies , such as excellence in cities , did not reach .
the increasingly difficult school funding situation represents a further major challenge and the temptation for schools to use pupil premium funding to plug other budget gaps should be resisted if disadvantaged children are to receive the additional support that they need .
researcher ian wybron said :
these latest figures should be showing the positive effects of the government ' s pupil premium and yet we ' re still seeing a rise in the national attainment gap for a second successive year .
the secretary of state for education lays down the following terms and conditions on which assistance is given in relation to the pupil premium grant ( ppg ) payable to schools and local authorities for the financial year beginning 1 april 2016 .
for non - mainstream schools that complete the school level annual census ( slasc ) , rather than the main school census , pupil premium will be based on the number of fte pupils recorded as fsm in the january 2016 slasc .
these benefits have now been rolled into a single benefit , called universal credit . from april 2018 , free school meals and pupil premium will only be allocated to pupils with a family income under £7400 ( net ) per year .
governors also need to focus on the children’s needs , rowland observes , not on league tables . “is pupil premium money being spent to meet disadvantaged students’ needs , or is it being focused on helping the school meet its accountability targets ? ” he asks . “when pupil premium was first introduced , you’d see spikes of spending in years 5 and 6 , and in year 10 , so it’s worth looking to see if money is spent evenly throughout the school . ”
in 32 per cent of primary schools and 27 per cent of secondary schools the reduction in the school’s funding is being mitigated by spending some of the pupil premium on items that would previously have been paid for through the main budget .
pupil premium is not a perfect definition of disadvantage , but it has proved to be a good way in which additional funding is channelled into every school and has made a difference to the lives of many of our most disadvantaged learners .
pupil premium is not subject to detailed government prescription , as occurs in so many other areas of school life . schools get the additional funding and are held to account for the impact they make on the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils .
the pupil premium for 2016 to 2017 includes pupils recorded in the january 2016 school census who are known to have been eligible for free school meals ( fsm ) since may 2010 , as well as those first known to be eligible at january 2016 .
so bad news story number one is that schools are playing a very risky game in allocating pupil premium money to areas that will not affect how well their disadvantaged children do . impact may well be reduced and accountability will tell the story very publicly .
the grant is allocated as set out in sections 4 , 5 and 6 below . where national curriculum year groups do not apply to a pupil , the pupil will attract ppg if aged 4 to 15 as recorded in the january 2016 school census .
since september 2014 , all children in reception and years 1 and 2 have qualified for free school meals , regardless of their family income , but only the children who would qualify for free meals under the above income - based criteria will receive the pupil premium .
from april 2015 , schools , nurseries , pre - schools and childminders who take three and four year olds on early education funding will be able to apply for early years pupil premium ( eypp ) funding . this will help support their delivery of high quality early education .
the pupil premium is additional funding given to schools based on the number of children who have been registered for free school meals ( fsm ) at any point during the last six years ( known as ever 6 ) , children who have been in care for more than six months and children who have a parent serving in the armed services . the department for education state it is for schools to decide how to use the pupil premium allocation , as they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for individual pupils within their responsibility .
we suggest that schools also publish the percentage of students staying in education or going into employment after key stage 4 ( pupil destinations ) .
a rather naive observation by me but shouldn’t a pupil premium champion be something every school should have ? based on the consequences that a misdirected policy / spend going un - monitored for even a short length of time could possibly ruin a students potential . we should make it mandatory .
children who are or have been looked after under local authority care for more than one day . these children are awarded a premium of £2300 .
bad news story number two is that the government may conclude that , if schools do not spend the money on disadvantaged pupils , the funding will in future come with strings attached and schools will lose the autonomy on pupil premium spending that is the envy of schools in many other countries .
in march 2018 the government announced that free school meals would only be available to children in ks2 whose families have a net income of £7400 or under , effective from 1 april 2018 . if your child was previously entitled to free school meals but is no longer , they will still receive pupil premium based on the ' ever 6 ' qualification ( a pupil who has ever had free school meals in the past six years ) .
for the purposes of these grant conditions , ever 6 service child means a pupil recorded in the january 2016 school census who was eligible for the service child premium since the january 2011 census as well as those recorded as a service child for the first time on the january 2016 school census .
you can commission a review at any time if you want to improve your school’s pupil premium strategy . all schools should consider whether they could benefit from the fresh perspective of an experienced school leader to help them try new approaches or improve current provision to help raise the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils .
for pupils who attract the £2 , 300 rate , the virtual school head of the local authority that looks after the pupil will manage the funding .
there is no obligation for your school to consult you about how they use the money they claim for your child , although some schools may involve parents . however , schools do have to show that they are using their pupil premium fund appropriately . this is measured through ofsted inspections and annual performance tables showing the progress made by children who are eligible for pupil premium . in addition , they have to publish details online , including how much money they have been allocated , how they intend to spend it , how they spent their previous year’s allocation and how it made a difference to the attainment of disadvantaged pupils .
the findings will come as a blow to deputy prime minister nick clegg , who has said the pupil premium , one of the main pledges in the 2010 liberal democrat manifesto , would ensure the coalition delivered the party ' s constitution commitment that
no one shall be enslaved by poverty , ignorance or conformity
.
karen wespieser , a governor at a junior school in maidenhead , which has relatively high pupil premium numbers , says that promoting cultural and other extra - curricular activities makes a real difference to children . “it’s not just about the quality of the teaching – it’s about inclusion and quality of access , ” she says .
we have devised a simple but comprehensive audit that allows you to check your school ' s processes for spending and evaluating pupil premium funds . our consultant will analyse your school ' s data and visit you for a day to establish what ' s working , what ' s not and what needs to be changed .
the nga’s allcroft believes it is entirely valid to use pupil premium money “to extend students’ cultural capital with things like theatre or outdoor pursuits” . it is , she concedes , difficult to show the immediate impact , “but longer term , it will make a difference . some things that are important are very hard to measure . ”
so how do you know if your school is doing all it can to spend pupil premium funds wisely and whether it ' s effectively targeted on activities likely to make the biggest difference . beyond the pressure from ofsted , there is also a moral imperative to make sure that disadvantaged students get the most out of the additional funding .
as my two - year stint as national pupil premium champion draws to a close , it feels like the right time to take stock . the champion role , as set out by david laws , has given me the opportunity to act as an independent conduit between the government and schools . on the one hand , i have fed back to the department for education the messages that school leaders have given me about issues they are facing in making an impact with the pupil premium ( pp ) ; on the other hand , i have spoken to nearly 15 , 000 school leaders at 150 conferences and meetings about how best to develop a strategy that fits their schools’ specific needs .
but demos’ claims were disputed by the department for education . “it is nonsense to say that the attainment gap is widening , ” a spokesman said . “the 2014 results – when analysed with our more informative and accurate measure – show the gap has narrowed by almost 4 per cent since 2012 , the year after the pupil premium was introduced .
the introduction of the pupil premium has seen a significant amount of money provided to schools - with some secondaries now receiving an additional £800 , 000 a year . but with this extra money comes accountability , and ofsted in particular have become increasingly focussed on judging how schools spend this money and whether it is making a difference to disadvantaged children .
a final problem is that there is some confusion about what the pupil premium is intended to achieve . policymakers talk interchangeably about the pupil premium being used to support pupils who are falling behind , and it being used to support those who are on free school meals . however the overlap between these two categories is not as large as many people suppose . according to the department for education ' s national pupil database , last year , only 23 % of low attaining pupils at the end of primary school were eligible for free school meals , and only 26 % of pupils eligible for free school meals were low attaining . this puts schools in the difficult position of having to decide whether to spend their pupil premium resources on pupils who have a learning need , even though many of them will not be eligible for free school meals , or whether they should focus them on fsm pupils , even though many of them will be performing at the expected level . i believe that it is the former that should be the priority for schools . tackling the long tail of low achievement is the biggest challenge facing england ' s school system , and it is better for schools to focus resources according to a child ' s learning needs .
demos said the relative success in inner london , where the gap fell from 18 . 9 % in the year before the introduction of the pupil premium to 18 . 6 % in the most recent figures , helped to mask a bleaker picture outside the capital . if london is excluded from the figures , the gap increases to 29 . 5 % .
ppg allocations are confirmed in june 2016 once pupil number data from the january 2016 census has been validated and agreed . ppg is paid to local authorities in quarterly instalments by :
but ultimately , schools are constrained by the resources they are given . over the next three years , schools face a cut in their main budget on one hand and an increase in their pupil premium funding on the other . when these two things are taken into account , it becomes clear that majority of schools face a real - terms cut in their funding .
references ( 1 ) national audit office , urltoken , june 2015 ( 2 ) ofsted , urltoken the most useful ofsted report on pupil premium appeared in february 2013 and is at urltoken . see also the july 2014 report at urltoken ( 3 ) sutton trust , urltoken ( 4 ) sutton trust , june 2015 , urltoken ( 5 ) teaching schools council , urltoken
all schools receive annual data on pupils’ progress from the department for education , known as raise , and 85 % of schools also pay for detailed information from the fischer family trust , richardson points out . “this offers projections down to individual pupil level , so you get a really good indication of where the vulnerabilities are likely to be , ” he says . “few governors really know how to use this data forensically – although it’s actually not that hard – but you can’t really decide on a pupil premium strategy unless you understand the data . ”
jonathan clifton is a senior research fellow at ippr . follow him on twitter @ jp _ clifton . this post is an edited version of a chapter from excellence and equity : tackling educational disadvantage in england ' s secondary schools . a full version of jonathan clifton ' s chapter ' getting the most out of the pupil premium ' can be downloaded for free from ippr .
it will take time to see how successful the pupil premium will be . but we can ' t just throw money at the problem and expect these differences in attainment to disappear . schools and local authorities need proper guidance , backed by robust research , on what works in closing the gap , including how to tackle the underlying causes both in and outside of school .
the lac premium must be managed by the designated virtual school head ( vsh ) and used without delay for the benefit of the looked - after child’s educational needs as described in their personal education plan .
the pupil premium for 2016 to 2017 includes pupils recorded in the january 2016 school census and alternative provision census who were looked after by an english or welsh local authority immediately before being adopted , or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order ( previously known as a residence order ) . these are collectively referred to as post - lac in these conditions of grant .
the demos research shows that the attainment gap widened in 72 out of 152 local authority areas last year . in 66 areas , the gap was larger than it was two years previously , before the pupil premium was introduced . across england , the gap was 26 . 7 % last year , up from 26 . 4 % in 2011 - 12 but reduced from 27 . 5 % in 2010 - 11 .
wybron said :
the attainment gap has been a difficult nut to crack in recent years . the pupil premium is supposed to finally close it . but it seems we ' re now seeing a national increase , and london ' s disproportionate success is masking wider gaps across the country . many local authorities are seeing either no change or , worse , an increase in the gap between the rich and poor .
often , all of the children in a class will reap some benefit from how the school spends its pupil premium : for example , if the money is used to fund an additional teaching assistant who works across the whole class , rather than providing one - to - one support . but research shows that the fund does help to narrow gaps between disadvantaged children and their peers , particularly in english and maths .
local authorities may not carry forward funding held centrally into the financial year 2017 to 2018 . efa will recover centrally held lac premium that has not been spent , or allocated to the child’s education setting , by 31 march 2017 .
some of the most effective uses of pupil premium can be the most subtle , says rowland . “as a head , you might decide to appoint a candidate who is very experienced and more expensive , for instance . ” as long as that appointment is made with a focus on the needs of disadvantaged children , this is an appropriate use of the money , he says – and it would be good practice to discuss this strategy with their governing body .
wybron said a high attainment gap in a relatively affluent area could be explained by a smaller number of pupils on free school meals .
the south - east has traditionally been the worse on this ,
he said .
there are all kinds of potential explanations – having fewer free school meal kids as a baseline or attracting less funding , you can ' t necessarily afford better interventions because there is a lower pupil premium coming into the school .
for the purposes of these conditions of grant , mainstream school means infant , junior , primary , middle , secondary , high schools , special school and pupil referral units . it does not include general hospital schools or other alternative provision .
after the review , your school should have an improved strategy for raising the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and spending your pupil premium funding , informed by the recommendations in the review . you should write the strategy with the system leader and they should have an opportunity to comment on a draft of the strategy . the strategy should be agreed by your governing body or trustees . if your school would like the system leader to provide any further support , you can arrange this with them directly .
the pupil premiumis a good policy in theory . targeting funds towards disadvantaged pupils makes sense and , given that the national attainment gap at primary school level is already around 20 % , the government ' s decision to increase the amount going to primary schools is welcome .
attainment of pp - eligible young people is rising and the gap between their attainment and that of more advantaged pupils is closing . this is happening more quickly at age 11 than at 16 , where many other policy factors come into play . the 2015 national audit office report on pupil premium ( 1 ) made a fair assessment of progress , noting the autonomy that schools have to spend pp and the increasing use of evidence to inform their pp strategies . ( the nao report also noted the £2 . 4 billion per annum that is allocated by local authorities as deprivation funding , but without the direct accountability that exists for the £2 . 5 billion pp funding . )
there is a lot that schools can do to maximize the effectiveness of the pupil premium . there is a growing body of research about which interventions are most effective for raising low attainment , and school leaders could draw on this when deciding how to spend their resources . they could also involve staff when deciding how the money should be spent – making sure that all members of staff engage with research about what is effective . school leaders should also make sure that resources are targeted towards pupils early in their school career , rather than using it to help pupils who are near the crucial ' c / d ' borderline cram for their gcses , even if this does help them in league tables .
apart from noting these common characteristics of pp practice in successful schools , i have resisted the temptation to tell schools how to spend the pp , but instead have set out a process for deciding what policies best suit each school’s individual circumstances . this process is summarised in my blog : “ten point plan on spending the pupil premium successfully” at urltoken . the ten steps in this plan are : step 1 . set an ambition for what you want your school to achieve with pp funding . step 2 . the process of decision - making on pp spending starts with an analysis of the barriers to learning for pp pupils . step 3 . decide on the desired outcomes of your pp spending . step 4 . against each desired outcome , identify success criteria . step 5 . evaluate the effectiveness and impact of your current pp strategies and change them if necessary . step 6 . research the evidence of what works best . step 7 . decide on the optimum range of strategies to be adopted . step 8 . staff training in depth . step 9 . monitor the progress of pp - eligible pupils frequently . step 10 . put an audit trail on the school website for pp spending .
schools that are most successful in their use of the pp adopt a range of strategies , well targeted at the needs of their pupils . i have noted 12 areas of focus for pp policy and practice in these schools : – excellent collection , analysis and use of data relating to individual pupils and groups . – unerring focus on the quality of teaching . – identification of the main barriers to learning for pp - eligible pupils . – frequent monitoring of the progress of every pp - eligible pupil . – when a pupil’s progress slows , interventions are put in place rapidly . – every effort is made to engage parents and carers in the education and progress of their child . – if poor attendance is an issue , this is addressed as a priority . – evidence ( especially the education endowment foundation toolkit ) is used to decide on which strategies are likely to be most effective in overcoming the barriers to learning . – staff ( teachers and support staff ) are trained in depth on the chosen strategies . – 100 per cent buy - in from all staff to the importance of the pp agenda is essential , with all staff conveying positive and aspirational messages to pp - eligible pupils . performance management is used to reinforce the importance of pp effectiveness . – effectiveness of teaching assistants is evaluated and , if necessary , increased through training and improved deployment . – governors are trained on pp .
the coalition ' s flagship policy to target extra financial resources at schoolchildren from poorer backgrounds is struggling to close the gap in educational achievements between less advantaged pupils and those from more affluent families , research shows .
in an analysis of the most recent gcse results from last summer , the centre - left demos thinktank found that nearly half of local authorities in england saw an increase in the attainment gap over the past year as poorer pupils fell behind classmates from more affluent backgrounds .
the attainment gap measures the contrasting performance in gcse exam results between children on free school meals and those whose parents are considered able to afford to pay for school lunch . the figures are based on pupils who achieved five or more gcses at grades a * to c , including maths and english .
ian wybron , an education specialist at demos , said the gap in educational achievement in london had improved across the board over the past decade after the introduction of the london challenge . he said :
attainment in london is better for both free school meal kids and non free school meal kids . the gap between them is also smaller .
the three local authorities with the narrowest attainment gap are all in the capital – kensington and chelsea ( 4 . 2 % ) , southwark ( 7 . 7 % ) and lambeth ( 9 . 5 % ) . the highest attainment gap is found in relatively affluent areas in the south - east – wokingham ( 42 . 5 % ) and buckinghamshire ( 39 . 6 % ) .
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the information that schools maintained by their local authorities must publish on their websites .
every local - authority - maintained school must publish specific information on its website to comply with the school information ( england ) ( amendment ) regulations 2012 and 2016 and other relevant legislation .
if you’re an academy or free school , read guidance on what academies , free schools and colleges should publish online .
if the school’s governing body decides your admissions , you must publish your school’s admission arrangements each year and keep them up for the whole school year .
if the local authority decides your admissions , tell parents to contact the local authority to find out about your admission arrangements .
percentage of pupils achieving the english baccalaureate ( ebacc ) . in 2017 , this was the percentage of pupils achieving the ebacc , so pupils who got a grade 5 or above in english and maths , and a grade c or above in the science , humanities and language pillars of the ebacc . in 2018 , the ebacc attainment measure will change to an average point score ( ebacc aps ) , showing pupils’ point scores across the 5 pillars of the ebacc
if you are a local - authority - maintained school sixth form you should publish a link to your school’s 16 to 18 performance tables page . you can find more information about these performance measures in the 16 to 18 accountability headline measures guidance .
you must include a link to the school and college performance tables and your school’s performance tables page .
the policy must comply with section 89 of the education and inspections act 2006 .
you must publish details of your school’s complaints procedure , which must comply with section 29 of the education act 2002 .
you must also publish any arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with special educational needs ( sen ) about the support the school provides .
as you won’t know allocations for the end of the academic year ( april to july ) , you should report on the funding up to the end of the financial year and update it when you have all the figures .
you must publish an sen information report on your school’s policy for pupils with sen and should update it annually .
you can find details of what you must include in schedule 1 of the special educational needs and disability regulations 2014 , and section 6 of the ‘special educational needs and disability code of practice : 0 to 25 years’ .
from september 2018 , you must publish information about the school’s careers programme . this information must relate to the delivery of careers guidance to year 8 to 13 pupils in accordance with section 42a of the education act 1997 . for the current academic year , you must include :
read the statutory guidance for schools on careers guidance and access for education and training providers for more information . the statutory guidance also contains further information about a policy statement that you must publish to comply with section 42b of the education act 1997 , setting out the circumstances in which providers of technical education and apprenticeships will be given access to year 8 to 13 pupils .
public bodies , including local - authority - maintained schools , are covered by the public sector equality duty in the equality act 2010 and the equality act 2010 ( specific duties ) regulations 2011 . this means you have to publish :
you must publish your school’s charging and ‘remissions’ policies ( this means when you cancel fees ) . the policies must include details of :
if a parent requests a paper copy of the information on your school’s website , you must provide this free of charge .
1 november 2016 clarified what information voluntary - aided schools must publish about their admission arrangements .
9 september 2016 reinstated section on special educational needs ( sen ) and disability , which was removed in error . added link to the school information ( england ) ( amendment ) regulations 2016 .
9 september 2016 added requirement about school complaints procedure which came into force on 1 september 2016 .
3 december 2015 added details of the information schools must publish about their governing body .
duties and responsibilities , collaborative governance , school structure changes , roles in governance , guidance on what to publish online .
don’t include personal or financial information like your national insurance number or credit card details .
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the reviewer will be an independent , experienced leader with a track record of making these improvements for disadvantaged pupils .
ofsted will recommend that you commission a review if , as a result of a section 5 inspection , it identifies specific issues regarding the provision for disadvantaged pupils .
in some cases , the department for education ( dfe ) , your local authority , your regional schools commissioner , or the organisation involved in running your school , academy or free school ( for example , the trust or diocese ) may recommend that you commission a review if there are concerns about the results of your disadvantaged pupils .
you should start the process of commissioning a review within 2 weeks of it being recommended and should aim to have the review completed within 8 weeks . if an ofsted inspection report recommends the review , the monitoring inspector will expect it to be undertaken in a timely way .
in cases where you also need to commission an external review of governance , you should commission this separately from a different reviewer .


christian focus publications ( cfp ) is a conservative , evangelical publishing house in the united kingdom .

cfp was established in the early 1970s , and is located in fearn , ross-shire .

the managing director is william mackenzie .

cfp has four imprints : christian focus - popular adult titles cf4k - children 's books christian heritage - reprints mentor - scholarly works

christian focus publications

christian focus publications is a conservative , evangelical publishing house whose managing director is william mackenzie , an elder in the inverness congregation .
click here to download our latest adult catalogue , which includes books from our christian focus , christian heritage and mentor imprints .
christian focus publications ( cfp ) has announced that anthony gosling of evangelical press ( ep ) , darlington , is to become cfp’s sales and marketing manager .
christian focus publications ( cfp ) is all about the message . the message of the gospel ; the message of god’s word communicated in the book of books , the bible .
christian focus publications ( cfp ) has been publishing christian books since the early 1970 ' s . we publish under four imprints : christian focus - popular adult titles , cf4k - books for children , including sunday school and home school titles , christian heritage - classic books kept in print for the benefit of each new generation , and mentor - thoughtful and thought - provoking books for more detailed study .
our christian focus imprint features a wide variety of popular works , including biographies , commentaries , basic doctrine , and christian living . all these books share a common focus on our lord jesus christ and deep trust in the complete truth of his word .
[ close ] * we want you to talk about your favorite christian focus , cf4k , mentor , and christian heritage books ! use this space as a place to share your thoughts and ideas . * be respectful . * this group is for people who like to read christian focus books . please do not post books or comments for personal promotion .
being a christian leader is a huge privilege . it is also a huge challenge . paul , a man who knew how …
christian focus publications publishes biblically–accurate books for adults and children . our children’s books are bright , fun and full of biblical truth , an ideal way to help children discover christ for themselves . our aim is to help children find out about god and get them enthusiastic about reading the bible , now and later in their lives . as an evangelical , reformed , non–denominational publishing company we believe that god’s word is true and jesus christ is lord .
christian focus publications is a conservative , evangelical publishing house . we come from a non–denominational reformed background and although we do not insist that all our authors call themselves reformed , we would not consider publishing anything that would be a polemic against the reformed faith . we are committed to the historic foundations of the faith , the inerrancy of scripture in its original manuscripts , the deity of christ , his uniqueness as a means of salvation and the existence of hell .
ep chief executive graham hilton said , ‘since joining in 2000 , anthony has made a huge contribution to the work at ep and will be greatly missed by all of us . we wish him and cfp every blessing’ .
also , after almost eight years as editorial manager , willie mackenzie becomes cfp’s director of publishing . cfp managing director william mackenzie said , ‘i welcome these changes , which should help our customers increasingly find from us material which points the world to its greatest need – that of knowing jesus’ .
it was a real blessing to have tim challies over with us in ballygomartin baptist church , all the way from ontario , canada . the well known…
teaching those things which concern the lord jesus christ with all confidence .
their aim is ‘to bring glory to god and remain faithful to god’s word , by producing books of lasting value and encouraging people to think about christianity’ .
a wide range of books is published , including children’s , biographies , commentaries and those that deal with important issues . many old ‘classics’ have also been reprinted .
christians are bible people . we believe that god speaks to us through his inspired word . and yet man…
ruth and esther are two prophetic pictures of the same gospel . one speaks of a last–minute res…
the psalms can be sung , spoken or read – but they were written to be prayed . until we pray th…
dietrich bonhoeffer is one of the heroes of world war 2 . not only did he preach god’s word fea…
as christians , many of us experience times when we struggle in our faith . times when we get distract…
sport is one of the many evidences of a gracious god . it can unite people , sharing together in the e…
the world today claims that your identity is entirely defined by you . as parents raising children in…
the world needs godly , trained leaders just as much as the church does . taking the examples of jesu…
would you like to make a difference ? these ten girls grew up to do just that . . . katherine luther , bet…
isobel kuhn questioned whether god even existed . mary slessor grew up in a slum with an alcoholic f…
in an uncertain world the one thing that we can be sure of is that we are going to die . but what lie…
a short reading for every day . spurgeon wrote this selection of readings to encourage believers to e…
foreword by alistair begg . what is wrong with the human race ? today those who shape social policy of…
the second coming of christ is a matter of sharp disagreement amongst christians . many hold to premi…
the doctrine of imputation is the ground in which salvation is rooted . it is often seen as superfluo…
when christians reflect on the gospel , their attention is rightly drawn to the cross and empty tomb . …
i agree to cfp holding my email address and i understand that i can request my details to be deleted at any time .
in dependence upon god we seek to impact the world through literature faithful to his infallible word . our aim is to ensure that the lord jesus christ is presented as the only hope to obtain forgiveness of sin , live a useful life and look forward to heaven with him .
christ’s last command requires us to reach out to our world with his gospel . we seek to help fulfil that by publishing books , which point people towards jesus and for them to develop a christ–like maturity . we aim to equip all levels of readers for life , work , ministry and mission .
with these aims always in mind we have books by authors from all five continents which are sold all around the world . our books have also been translated into over 70 different languages .
we are a distinctively evangelical , though not denominational , publisher . our books point readers , no matter what their age , to look for help in their lives from the bible , and the author who gave us his word .
the proud man thought god would be pleased with him . find out why god was upset by his prayers . have…
mentor books are written at a level suitable for bible college and seminary students , pastors , and other serious readers . the imprint includes commentaries , doctrinal studies , examination of current issues , and church history .
union with christ is the jewel in the crown of salvation . it has many and varied facets . indeed , the…
we are glad to have authors such as alec motyer , john piper , d . a . carson , melissa kruger , ligon duncan , steve timmis , mez mcconnell and others , who all share the desire to see your spiritual life deepened and your faith strengthened .
princess anne received a copy of ' daily readings - the early church fathers ' by nick needham yesterday at highland theological college ' s graduation ceremony .
ian murray , co - founder of the banner of truth , shares with us why he loves this little book .
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' a child ' s first book about marriage ' by jani ortlund introduces children to the beauties of god ' s plan for marriage . available now : urltoken
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