Pupil Premium is additional government funding to help schools improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children and reduce the attainment gap between them and their peers.

Funding is allocated for pupils who qualify for income-related ‘Targeted’ free school meals, or have been eligible within the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6’). Additional funding, known as Pupil Premium Plus, supports children who are looked after by a local authority and eligible previously looked-after children, including those adopted from care or who left care through a special guardianship or child arrangements order. Funding for looked-after children is managed by the local authority’s Virtual School Head in consultation with the school.

From September 2026, free school meals have been extended to all children whose households receive Universal Credit. However, eligibility through this expanded entitlement alone does not attract Pupil Premium funding. Universal infant free school meals also do not, on their own, qualify a child for Pupil Premium.

Separate Service Pupil Premium funding supports eligible children from armed forces families, principally through pastoral support.

At St Joseph’s, we want every child to achieve their potential, feel a strong sense of belonging and enjoy the breadth of experiences school life offers. We use our funding to address identified barriers to learning through evidence-informed approaches, in line with Department for Education guidance. These focus on high-quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies supporting attendance, wellbeing and participation.

Depending on pupils’ needs, support may include additional teaching, language development, pastoral provision and help accessing educational visits, music lessons and clubs. Pupil Premium is not an individual budget for each eligible child; funding may support groups or whole-school approaches where these improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

Our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement below sets out our identified challenges, intended outcomes, planned spending and evaluation of the previous year’s outcomes. We review and update this statement annually.