Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium? Pupil Premium is additional government funding provided to schools to help improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. At Christleton Primary School, we want every child to be the best they can be. We use Pupil Premium funding carefully and strategically to help remove barriers to learning, strengthen high-quality teaching and provide appropriate academic, pastoral and wider opportunities. Pupil Premium is not a personal budget for an individual child. Schools are responsible for deciding how the funding is used, based on an understanding of the needs of disadvantaged pupils and evidence about the approaches most likely to improve educational outcomes. Funding may therefore be used to support individual pupils, groups of pupils or whole-class approaches where these are an effective way of improving outcomes for disadvantaged children.
Who attracts Pupil Premium funding? Pupil Premium funding is allocated using nationally determined eligibility criteria. This includes: pupils who are currently eligible for Targeted Free School Meals, or who have been recorded as eligible for qualifying Free School Meals during the previous six years – often referred to as Ever 6 FSM; children who were previously looked after by a local authority or other state care and subsequently left care, including through adoption, a Special Guardianship Order or a Child Arrangements Order; and children adopted from state care, or equivalent care arrangements, outside England and Wales where the relevant criteria are met. If your child was previously looked after and you have not already informed the school, please contact us in confidence. This enables us to ensure that their eligibility is recorded appropriately and that any additional support can be considered.
	Looked-after children Children who are currently looked after by a local authority also attract Pupil Premium Plus funding. This funding is allocated to the local authority and managed by the Virtual School Head, who works with the child's school to ensure that it is used to support the outcomes identified through the child's Personal Education Plan.   Service Pupil Premium There is separate Service Pupil Premium funding to support eligible children from Armed Forces families. This can include children whose parent is currently serving in the regular Armed Forces, children who have been recorded as a service child during the previous six years and, in certain circumstances, children whose parent died while serving. Service Pupil Premium is primarily intended to help schools provide appropriate pastoral support and respond to the potential impact of issues such as parental deployment and family mobility. It may also be used to support academic progress where appropriate.

Free School Meals and Pupil Premium – changes from September 2026

From the start of the 2026–27 academic year, eligibility for benefits-based Free School Meals in England was expanded.

All children from households receiving Universal Credit can now be eligible for a free school meal. However, there are two categories of benefits-based Free School Meals:

Targeted Free School Meals

Targeted FSM continues to include children from households receiving Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less, together with children meeting certain other qualifying criteria.

Pupils who are eligible for Targeted FSM can attract Pupil Premium and other disadvantage-related funding.

Expanded Free School Meals

Expanded FSM applies to children from households receiving Universal Credit whose household earnings are above the Targeted FSM threshold.

These children are entitled to receive a free school meal, but becoming eligible through the Expanded FSM category does not, by itself, attract Pupil Premium funding.

A child who is already part of the Ever 6 FSM group may, however, continue to attract Pupil Premium funding even if their current circumstances place them within Expanded FSM.

Other families may also meet the criteria for Targeted FSM, including some households receiving:

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance;
• the Guarantee element of Pension Credit;
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; or
• support under the separate eligibility arrangements for some families with no recourse to public funds.

Eligibility is subject to the national criteria and appropriate checks.

Families who believe they may be eligible are encouraged to apply through the Cheshire West and Chester Council Free School Meals service.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

All children attending a state-funded school in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal through Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM), regardless of family income.

However, receiving a Universal Infant Free School Meal does not automatically mean that a child is recorded as eligible for Targeted FSM or that the school receives Pupil Premium funding.

If your family receives Universal Credit or you think you may meet the Targeted FSM criteria, it is therefore important that you still apply for benefits-based Free School Meals.

A successful Targeted FSM application may enable your child to access additional entitlements and can help the school receive additional funding to support children's education.

How do we use Pupil Premium?

At Christleton Primary School, our approach begins with identifying the particular barriers and needs experienced by our disadvantaged pupils. We then select approaches based on evidence of what is most likely to make a positive difference.

In line with Department for Education guidance and the Education Endowment Foundation's evidence-informed approach, our work is focused across three key areas:

High-quality teaching

High-quality teaching is central to improving outcomes for all pupils and is particularly important for disadvantaged children. Funding may support areas such as:

• professional development for staff;
• high-quality teaching, assessment and curriculum provision;
• effective use of assessment to identify pupils' needs; and
• resources or approaches which strengthen teaching and learning.

Targeted academic support

Where additional support is required, funding may be used for carefully selected and monitored interventions, including:

• one-to-one or small-group support;
• targeted support for reading, writing, language and mathematics;
• structured interventions delivered by teachers or teaching assistants; and
• appropriate provision for disadvantaged pupils who also have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

We recognise that disadvantage can overlap with SEND and other needs. Support is therefore planned around the individual barriers a child experiences rather than assuming that all disadvantaged pupils require the same provision.

Wider strategies

Children's learning can also be affected by barriers beyond the classroom. Pupil Premium may therefore support approaches relating to:

• attendance and punctuality;
• social, emotional and behavioural needs;
• pastoral support and wellbeing;
• communication and engagement with parents and carers;
• breakfast or meal provision where appropriate;
• participation in clubs, sport and physical activity;
• educational visits, residential experiences and enrichment opportunities; and
• removing financial or practical barriers which might otherwise prevent a child from participating fully in school life.

Our aim is to ensure that disadvantaged pupils are able to attend, belong, achieve and succeed alongside their peers.

Does the funding have to be spent on individual eligible pupils?

No. Pupil Premium is not an individual entitlement or personal budget.

Schools can use the funding for approaches which support groups of pupils or whole classes where there is evidence that this is an effective way to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

The funding may also be used, where appropriate, to support pupils who do not meet the formal Pupil Premium eligibility criteria but who have other identified needs or barriers to learning.

The school remains accountable for ensuring that Pupil Premium funding is used appropriately and that its impact on disadvantaged pupils is carefully considered and evaluated.

Working with parents and carers

We greatly value our partnership with parents and carers.

Families know their children best, and we welcome conversations about any circumstances, barriers or additional support which may help a child to thrive in school.

If you think your child may be entitled to benefits-based Free School Meals, has previously been looked after, or there are circumstances affecting their access to learning or wider school opportunities, please contact the school. Any conversation will be handled sensitively and confidentially.

Decisions about the allocation of Pupil Premium funding are made by the school, based on identified needs, professional judgement and evidence about the approaches most likely to improve educational outcomes.

Our Pupil Premium Strategy

Our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement explains:

• the main challenges and barriers we have identified for our disadvantaged pupils;
• the outcomes we are seeking to achieve;
• how we intend to use our Pupil Premium funding;
• the evidence supporting the approaches we have selected; and
• how we evaluate the impact of our provision.

The Department for Education recommends that schools take a three-year approach to Pupil Premium planning. However, schools are required to review their strategy and publish an updated strategy statement each academic year.

Our current Pupil Premium Strategy Statement can be viewed below.

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