Funding designed to help the poorest pupils is being used by some schools to boost the results of all youngsters and plug holes in school budgets, a poll of teachers suggests.

Just over half of teachers (53%) say their school is using pupil premium funding to raise the attainment of disadvantaged children. But around one in six say the funds are being used to improve all pupils’ results while others are using the money to pay for activities affected by budget cuts (7%). The pupil premium is extra cash designed to help schools boost the achievement of disadvantaged youngsters.

From this September, the premium will be worth £1,300 for each eligible primary school pupil and £935 for each eligible secondary school pupil. The majority of schools surveyed (55%) say early intervention schemes are a priority when spending the fund, followed by one-to-one tuition (39%). Most secondary leaders look to other schools, past experience and research evidence to decide how to allocate the pupil premium.

The survey of 1,600 teachers, commissioned by the Sutton Trust, also reveals that just over a fifth (22%) of teachers say their school is using the funding to help pupils who are falling behind in class.

Sutton Trust chair Sir Peter Lampl said: “The pupil premium was established to break the cycle of disadvantage that begins when poor children underachieve at school. It’s vital that the funds to help these pupils are well-targeted and used in a cost-effective way.”

Read the full story here

Media enquiries

If you're a journalist with a question about our work, get in touch with Sam or Rocky on the number below. The number is also monitored out of hours.

E: [email protected] T: 0204 536 4642

Keep up to date with the latest news