What is level of the Premium per pupil for this year?

It has increased from £488 in 2011-12 to £600 per pupil in 2012-13 for pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) and for pupils in care who have been continuously looked after for six months.

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 How much has overall funding for the Premium increased for 2012-13?

Total funding through the Premium has increased from £625m in 2011-12 to £1.25bn in 2012-13.

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 Shouldn’t the increase per pupil be larger when total funding for the Premium has doubled this year?

We have widened the coverage of the Premium to include those eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years (known as the Ever 6 FSM measure). We estimate that this will include an extra 555,000 pupils.

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 Why have you included those previously eligible for FSM?

Children who have been eligible for FSM at any point in the past generally have poorer academic results than those who have never been eligible for FSM. These pupils therefore should benefit from the additional support the Pupil Premium funding will be able to provide.

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 Why extend coverage to six years?

There is a particular issue with the under-reporting of free school meals (FSM) amongst secondary school pupils. Extending eligibility to those eligible for FSM in the past six years means that a child previously registered in the last year of primary education will remain eligible for the Premium up to Year 11.

We consulted in the summer on whether to extend coverage to those eligible for FSM in the past 3 years (Ever 3 measure) or the past 6 years. There was stronger support for the wider six year coverage with 44% supporting it compared to 28% for the Ever 3 measure.

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 Will schools lose out from the change?

The level of the per pupil Premium has risen this year so every school with FSM pupils will receive more funding for the same number of FSM pupils. We know however that the level of FSM registration falls markedly in secondary schools and our wider coverage tries to address this.

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 How will schools know how many pupils previously eligible for FSM they have?

In February 2012, the Department provided schools with the number of their pupils previously eligible for FSM, via the Key to Success website. This, when added to the number of pupils eligible for FSM in January 2012, will enable them to estimate the total number of their pupils eligible for the Premium in 2012-13.

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 Are you providing any estimates of the funding schools will receive this year?

Yes, we have published indicative allocations setting out what schools might receive based on their existing pupil numbers and the higher £600 per pupil. These are not the allocations schools will receive which will be based in part on their January 2012 pupil numbers.

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