What is pupil premium funding and how can schools maximise its impact?

Pupil premium funding is a grant given to publicly funded schools by the government to help support disadvantaged pupils and improve educational outcomes. Introduced in 2011, it’s designed to close attainment gaps and ensure all pupils have fair access to a quality education.

The pupil premium also provides support for children whose parents serve or have served in the armed forces. This funding is called the service pupil premium (SPP) and it’s in place to help tackle specific challenges faced by children from service families, which might include family mobility or parental deployment.

Pupil premium funding does not need to be assigned to individual pupils, though any initiatives it covers must aim to raise attainment levels of socio-economically disadvantaged students. Initiatives designed to improve teaching and learning will often benefit entire classes and groups of children, which can be a positive — it helps to create cohesion and close attainment gaps without singling out individuals.

The additional funding provided by the pupil premium is much needed by schools, with the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) pointing out that it has remained a constant throughout times of great uncertainty and increased demand on school resources. The EEF advocates for the pupil premium as one of the most important tools available to address the stubborn link between family income and education outcomes. 

What is the eligibility criteria for pupil premium funding?

Funding is allocated to schools on a per-pupil basis, for:

• Pupils who are eligible to receive free school meals.
• Pupils who have been eligible to receive free school meals during the past six years — this group is referred to as Ever 6 FSM.
• Pupils from service families, which means:
  • They have a parent currently serving in the armed forces.
  • They have had a parent serving in the armed forces during the last six years.
  • A parent has died while serving in the armed forces.
• Children who have previously been looked after in local authority or state care.

Currently looked after children are also eligible for pupil premium funding, however it will be allocated to local authorities instead of schools. The local authority then releases a portion of the grant to schools, usually retaining some of it to fund services they provide for looked after children.

These groups are prioritised for funding to help break down barriers and remove factors that could stand in the way of their progress. There can be many reasons why disadvantaged pupils might underachieve. They may face challenges with housing or having dedicated places to study at home, their parents may struggle to be as involved in their schooling (perhaps due to long or unsociable hours at work), or their general wellbeing might be affected by a lack of resources or necessities like appropriate clothing and healthy food. While these factors can be pervasive and challenging, schools must be very careful not to make assumptions about pupils’ specific needs and situations, and should instead strive to understand them on an individual level that goes beyond the basic data. 

How much is pupil premium funding worth?

These are the current pupil premium funding rates for the 2025-2026 academic year:

For looked after children, the annual funding amount per pupil is £2,630, however schools may not receive it all if the local authority retains a portion. 

Funding amounts are reviewed annually and the latest can be found on the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) pupil premium overview. 

How can schools use pupil premium funding?

Schools have three pillars, known as the “menu of approaches”, that they must use to inform their pupil premium spending. These are:

• High-quality teaching. The EEF recommends that schools should make this pillar their top priority. Every teacher should be supported so they can keep improving their practice, which will benefit all pupils but in particular those who are disadvantaged. Examples of use cases for the grant include professional development, training, recruitment, investment in technology, retention strategies and support for early career professionals.
• Targeted academic support. This can be particularly effective for pupils who are struggling to make progress. Strategies will mainly involve teachers and teaching assistants, and they might include one-to-one or small group tuition, peer tutoring, targeted support with language development, literacy and numeracy work, interventions to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as well as additional activities such as summer schools.
• Wider strategies. These will address non-academic issues that may be causing problems in school, frequently related to behaviour and attendance. Strategies will often be focused on addressing social and emotional wellbeing. Other options include provision of extra-curricular activities, breakfast clubs and support for parents.

The exact use of funding is up to the school, but it must align with the overall aim of improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. The EEF advises following a five-point plan to develop and maintain a successful strategy for pupil premium spending:

1. Diagnose pupils’ needs and establish a rich dataset to fully understand the challenges facing disadvantaged pupils.
2. Use strong evidence that’s relevant and unbiased to further understand challenges and potential solutions.  
3. Develop the strategy, combing school data with critically evaluated external research to produce a plan that aligns with the “menu of approaches”.
4. Deliver and monitor the strategy, providing support for staff and continually reflecting on effectiveness.
5. Evaluate and sustain the strategy, which can become more challenging after initial momentum fades. Schools should consider how they can share improved outcomes and celebrate wins as well as making adjustments where strategies fall short.

Schools can find full details in the EEF guide to pupil premium.

Schools are held fully accountable for their strategy, which must be published on their website annually by December 31. Academies within a trust must each publish a separate pupil premium strategy statement. The DfE recommends that strategies span three academic years, however they still must be reviewed and amended each year. Governors or trustees will review and scrutinise plans for spending pupil premium funding, Ofsted will discuss spending plans during inspections and the DfE will review samples of published statements annually to make sure they comply with the conditions.

Common challenges when maximising pupil premium funding

Schools want to make the most of pupil premium funding, but may find it challenging to:

• Prove impact. Reporting on outcomes can be difficult if there is not hard data to accompany results. Even if data can be sourced, it can be time consuming for schools to collate their evidence.
• Stick to budgets. Funding is limited and solutions can be expensive. Schools must find cost-effective ways to maximise their impact, within funding parameters.
• Support students outside the classroom. What happens when disadvantaged students leave school for the day? Schools must consider how they can support students more holistically.
• Protect teachers’ time. It’s not just about the funding — teachers need to have the time to engage with extra training and initiatives. As it stands, teachers and leaders want more time dedicated to professional development, but workload pressures often prevent full engagement.

If schools can find affordable, flexible solutions with built-in reporting to prove impact and save time, pupil premium funding goes further.  

Using pupil premium to focus on results

Achieving better educational outcomes through pupil premium funding is an impactful and measurable scenario that schools often strive to achieve. Many schools are already using the pupil premium to fund additional curriculum opportunities, and one way of doing this is via education technology that can help raise attainment. Digital learning solutions can be flexible, engaging and user-friendly, plus they allow students to progress at their own pace and remain in control of their learning. With tools like quizzes and in-app assessments, pupils can get instant feedback on their progress — and so can teachers, without spending more time on marking.

Access GCSEPod is a digital learning solution for secondary schools that’s proven to help students achieve at least one and a half grades higher on average than non-users. The tool can support all students and help them improve their grades, but in particular, it can change the story for those facing challenges in class, allowing them to learn in an engaging, flexible way where they can take ownership.

Attainment and progress data is readily available to teachers so they can intervene if students show signs of needing more support. For Sir John Thursby Community College, GCSEPod has led to noticeable academic improvements.

“Students love using it," said Fazeel Rashid, Assistant Head teacher and Science teacher at the college. “We've seen improved attainment for those that use it regularly.

Cost-effective solutions to improve outcomes

Digital learning tools can be a strategic, evidence-based use of pupil premium funding, providing new approaches for disadvantaged pupils as well as lessening teacher workloads. Find out how Access GCSEPod could support your strategy — schedule your live demo.