What does the Pupil Premium mean for St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School?
Pupil Premium is an additional government grant which is added to the main funding that schools receive in their annual budgets.
Pupil Premium funding is allocated to:
- Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or who have been eligible at some time in the past 6 years (FSM)
- Pupils whose parents are in the armed services (Service)
- Looked after children (LAC)
- Children who have been adopted from care (Post LAC)
The aim of Pupil Premium funding is to support eligible children who may be vulnerable to underachievement and to address any attainment gaps. As well as focusing on academic achievement, it may also be appropriate to provide support to nurture their well-being and to provide these children with access to a wide variety of enriching experiences.
If you think your child may be eligible for free school meals click here to apply
What is the Sports Premium or PE and Sport Grant?
Physical activity has numerous benefits for children and young people’s physical health, as well as their mental wellbeing (increasing self-esteem and emotional wellbeing and lowering anxiety and depression), and children who are physically active are happier, more resilient and more trusting of their peers. Ensuring that pupils have access to sufficient daily activity can also have wider benefits for pupils and schools, improving behaviour as well as enhancing academic achievement.
The PE and Sports Premium provides primary schools with £320 million of government funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of the PE, physical activity and sport. Each school will receive £8,000 plus an extra £5 per pupil aged 5-11 at the January census each year. The money can only be spent on sport and PE provision in schools.
Purpose of the funding
Schools will have to spend the sport funding on improving their provision of PE and sport, but they will have the freedom to choose how they do this.
Possible uses of the funding include:
- Hiring specialist PE teachers or qualified sports coaches to work alongside primary teachers when teaching PE
- New or additional Change4Life sport clubs
- Paying for professional development opportunities in PE/sport
- Providing cover to release primary teachers for professional development in PE/sport
- Running sport competitions, or increasing participation in the school games
- Buying quality assured professional development modules or material for PE/sport
- Providing places for pupils on after school sport clubs and residential visits
For further details on the PE and sport premium for primary schools, please visit the Government website.