The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months, and children of service personnel.

Pupil premium funding is received directly from central government to help each school meet the additional needs of four groups of children:

• Children eligible for free school meals (currently or previously)
• Children of parents currently working in the armed services
• Children looked after by the local authority (in care)
• Children who have been adopted or placed with relatives under a Residency order or Special Guardianship Order.

Over a long period of time, these children have tended to achieve less well than their peers across the UK. The additional funding is to be used by schools in whatever ways they judge best to achieve better outcomes for these groups of children.

However, while we are required to post an impact report, the concept of pupil premium and the idea that impact reports can reveal anything valid or useful is highly unlikley. Read here for an analysis from Professor Becky Allen.