Pupil Premium Plus is a government grant to support and promote the education of children and young people in care. Each year, Pupil Premium Plus is allocated to Sutton Virtual School for each Sutton Child Looked After of school age to the value of £2530 to support their education.
Sutton Virtual School makes £600 of PP+ available for Children Looked After of statutory school age at each termly PEP for schools to use to support their learning needs. Schools are able to make requests to the Virtual School Headteacher for additional PP+ funding at the PEP meeting where a need is identified.
A school will receive a direct payment of £2530 each year for each Previously Looked After Child. It is up to schools how they choose to spend this grant and further guidance can be found on the Pupil Premium pages of the DfE website.
Uses of Pupil Premium Plus funding
Pupil Premium Plus is additional funding that schools receive for each child in care. It is intended to help schools improve the educational outcomes of these children, who are often among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils in the school system.
There are many different ways that schools can use Pupil Premium Plus funding to improve the outcomes of children in care. Some of the most effective uses include:
- Providing additional staffing: This can include hiring additional teachers, teaching assistants, or other support staff to provide one-on-one or small group tuition to children in care, or to help them with their social and emotional needs.
- Funding bespoke interventions: This can include funding for targeted interventions to address specific needs, such as speech and language therapy, educational psychology, or counselling.
- Supporting social and emotional development: Children in care often have complex social and emotional needs, so it is important to provide them with support in this area. This could include funding for nurture groups, social skills training, or mentoring programmes.
- Promoting resilience and well-being: Children in care have often experienced trauma and loss, so it is important to help them develop resilience and well-being. This could include funding for activities such as yoga, mindfulness, or art therapy.
- Raising aspirations and building life chances: Children in care are more likely to experience poverty and social exclusion, so it is important to help them raise their aspirations and build their life chances. This could include funding for careers education, work experience, or enrichment activities.
When using Pupil Premium Plus funding, it is important to tailor the support to the individual needs of each child. This should be done in consultation with the child, their carers, and other professionals involved in their care.
Here are some specific examples of how Pupil Premium Plus funding can be used to improve the outcomes of children in care:
- One-on-one tuition: This can be a very effective way to help children in care who are struggling academically. It can also help to build their confidence and self-esteem.
- Small group tuition: This can be a good way to support children in care who need extra help with a particular subject, or who benefit from working with other children in a similar situation.
- Speech and language therapy: This can help children in care who have difficulties with communication. This can include difficulties with speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
- Educational psychology: This can help children in care who have learning difficulties, or who are experiencing emotional or behavioural problems.
- Counselling: This can help children in care to process trauma and loss, and to develop coping mechanisms.
- Nurture groups: These are small groups that provide children with emotional support and help them to develop social skills.
- Social skills training: This can help children in care to develop the skills they need to interact with others positively and to form relationships.
- Mentoring programmes: These programmes match children in care with adult mentors who can provide them with support and guidance.
- Yoga, mindfulness, and art therapy: These activities can help children in care to develop resilience and well-being.
- Careers education: This can help children in care to explore their options for the future and to develop the skills they need to succeed in employment.
- Work experience: This can give children in care the opportunity to gain real-world experience in a workplace setting.
- Enrichment activities: These activities can help children in care to develop their interests and talents, and to raise their aspirations.
By using Pupil Premium Plus funding effectively, schools can make a real difference to the lives of children in care.
Frequently asked questions:
We are often asked whether Children Looked After can claim Free School Meal funding, given that they are in receipt of Pupil Premium Plus funding. The answer to this is no. Local Authorities provide the funding for school meals to the foster carer and therefore the expectation is that this funding is used to pay for school meals and therefore further funding is not provided.
Pupil Premium Toolkit
This Pupil Premium Plus Toolkit illustrates some examples of how PP+ can be used by schools to effectively support a Child Looked After.
The table below is only a summary of ideas for how PP+ funding can be used. For more information on the latest research based findings, please go to Teaching and Learning Toolkit | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
| Uses of Pupil Premium Plus funding | Example |
|---|---|
| Academic attainment | Providing one to one tuition Providing additional TA support Training key adults to be trauma and attachment aware in their practice Introducing phonics programme to schoolg Meta-cognition and self regulation Funding for SALT |
| Transition planning | Funding visits to higher or further education centres Funding an adult to take a year 6 student to visit new school and teachers Funding a key adult to spend time with a Year 2 student familiarising them to the change of environment ready for KS2 Funding a 'meet and greet' person when a child is in a new setting/classroom or other point of change |
| Wider achievement and extra-curricular learning outside the classroom | Supporting the cost of after school clubs Funding school enrichment activities Supporting the cost of trips and visits Supporting the cost of materials or equipment for high quality HW completion Providing home reading materials to extend learning beyond the classroom |
| Attendance and inclusion | Funding strategies to reduce anxiety - therapist - ESLA training for staff - Putting ‘drawing and talking’ in place - Funding staff to teach beyond classroom where attendance stopped - Funding time for regular meet and greets with key staff member throughout the day Funding to create a therapeutic safe space in school |
| Social, emotional and mental health | Funding staff training around mental health support Funding counselling provision Funding EP Funding social and emotional learning programme (targeted for greater impact) Funding mentoring support Funding extra-curricular activities |