Over 3,000 of South Gloucestershire’s poorest pupils could benefit from a £1.3m funding boost.
As part of its annual budget consultation with schools, South Gloucestershire Council has indicated to schools how each of them are likely to benefit from the Coalition Government’s flagship ‘pupil premium’, which aims to target extra resources at the most disadvantaged school children.
The ‘pupil premium’ was a key Conservative Party manifesto commitment in the May 2010 General Election and has been adopted as part of Coalition Government’s policy programme.
There are three strands to the premium: the first is for children from a deprived background who receive free school meals, and the second is for ‘Looked After Children’. For both of these, the premium is £430 each in 2011/12. The third premium is for children of armed service personnel, and this is worth £200 per service pupil.
In welcoming the news, Cllr Sheila Cook, the council’s Conservative schools chief, said:
“We know that education’s real power lies in its ability to transform life chances and so I am delighted to see that the district’s primary and secondary schools are to receive extra resources for them to target help at our most disadvantaged pupils.”
“The pupil premium was an important Conservative manifesto commitment and its implementation means that thousands of South Gloucestershire children will finally be getting the extra support they need to succeed and achieve their full potential.”
Although based on October 2010 data, 3,120 children on free school meals have been identified with a notional pupil premium total allocation of £1,341,600. Because they are volatile, figures for ‘looked after children’ and children of armed service personnel will only be available once the January 2011 school census has been completed.
Final figures will be given to schools at the final budget allocation stage in March 2011 or as soon as the latest data is available.
Source: Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council
