News

Pupil Premium census change will wipe-out recovery funding for two-thirds of primary schools

The £6,000 recovery premium being given to primary schools is set to be wiped out because of changes in how the Department for Education (DfE) calculates Pupil Premium eligibility.

A seemingly innocuous change has seen the DfE move to using October 2020 census data – and not the usual January census – to decide on Pupil Premium eligibility.

It means that any children who have become “eligible” between October and January will not attract the crucial £1,345 Pupil Premium funding from April 2021. Instead they will have to wait a year.

The issue has been highlighted by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). It says that the three-month gap may seem small, but with many families in “volatile financial situations”, higher than normal numbers of pupils are at risk of rapidly falling into further disadvantage.

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