Pupil Premium Plus funding for looked after children

What is Pupil Premium Plus funding for Looked After Children?

Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) is additional funding provided by the government to help improve the educational outcomes of children who are looked after by a Local Authority.

Funding is managed by the Virtual School Head and is intended to support the delivery of outcomes identified in a young person's Personal Education Plan (PEP). 

The Virtual School can pool some of the funding for projects which support the cohort more widely, such as professional development for a group of Designated Teachers for Looked After Children or interventions specifically targeted at a group of children.

Children in school years Reception to Year 11 are eligible for PP+, and there is separate grant funding available to support Post-16 students in some circumstances, which can be requested through the Virtual School Post 16 team by emailing virtual.schools@norfolk.gov.uk

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) to improve the education of 3 and 4 year olds is available for looked after children.  Carers should speak to their childcare provider who can submit a claim to the Local Authority.

Why is it important?

Looked after children can face significant educational disadvantages such as disrupted education and experience of trauma or instability and are statistically more likely to underachieve in school compared to their peers. 

PP+ funding is intended to improve their educational outcomes, to support them to achieve their full potential, by helping deliver the outcomes identified in their PEP.

What do the Conditions of Grant say about how the funding can be used?

PP+ must be used to provide additional support over and above a school's general provision and any spend must fall under one of the approaches listed in the Department for Education's (DfE) Menu of Approaches:

• High quality teaching, such as staff professional development
• Targeted academic support, such as tutoring or small group interventions
• Wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools such as improving attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support.

It cannot be used to cover costs that should be met through other funding sources such as provision required by an EHCP or social care responsibilities.

How do schools access PP+ funding?

The school's Designated Teacher for Looked After Children should clearly record the intended use of PP+ in the young person's PEP by linking the funding request to specific outcomes. Schools must demonstrate how the funding will be used to support those outcomes and review the impact at the next PEP meeting.

The Virtual School will assess the request against the need and approve funding accordingly.

There is no automatic entitlement to funding and it is provided only when there is a clear need and plan to address that need.

Please note that PP+ for pupils attending independent special schools or alternative providers will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances as the provision required by a young person is agreed at the time of placement.

What support is available?

National

Education Endowment Fund (EEF)

Schools are encouraged to use the EEF's Teaching and Learning Toolkit, an evidence-based resource which can help schools make informed decisions by evaluating the effectiveness of different teaching and learning strategies.  It includes more than 30 approaches, with a summary of each approach, average impact on pupil progress, cost implications and strength of supporting evidence.  It can help schools to make the most impact using PP+ funding.

Department for Education

The DfE website publishes pupil premium guidance for school leaders, much of which applies to pupil premium plus funding for looked after children, including further guidance on the Menu of Approaches.

Norfolk

The Virtual School has PP+ funding guidance and FAQs available to download from its website.

Schools should discuss specific funding requests with their Virtual School Adviser, who can be identified in the top right corner of any pupil's PEP.

Key contacts

If you would like any further information or support from the Virtual School, please email virtual.schools@norfolk.gov.uk or telephone the Virtual School's General Enquiries line: 01603 303323, available Monday to Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.