Children previously in care
How schools use pupil premium funding
It's up to each individual school how to spend the Pupil Premium Plus grant. The DfE has clearly stated that it is good practice to consult parents and guardians when making the decision, so schools can better understand and take in to account the needs of children previously in care.
For spending the Pupil Premium Plus, the conditions of grant Pupil premium: conditions of grant for the 2025 to 2026 financial year - GOV.UK recommend planning to use it in line with the Education Endowment Foundation's (EEF's) 3-tiered approach to help schools allocate spending across the following 3 key areas:
- support high-quality teaching
- provide targeted academic support
- wider strategies to tackle non-academic barriers to academic success, such as difficulties with attendance, behaviour and social and emotional wellbeing
The money is not ring fenced and does not have to be spent on the individual child. The DfE has included this flexibility so that schools can get maximum impact from the funding and so that children who change schools are not disadvantaged.
The Using pupil premium guidance for school leaders gives information for how school leaders can use their pupil premium funding effectively, complete their strategy statement and information about pupil premium payments.
