Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium

“Everyone deserves an excellent education, regardless of background or barrier to learning.”

What is Pupil Premium?

The pupil premium is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. It is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), Looked after Children, children adopted from care and Service Forces children. It also includes pupils who have been eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years (known as the Ever 6 FSM measure).

More information can be found here:

GOV.UK Pupil Premium Guidance

In 2026-2027 Pupil Premium fund was £1550.00 per pupil. Schools also receive funding of up to £2690.00 for Looked after Children and those adopted from care.

As you can see this is a significant amount of money that has a massive impact on the support your child can receive.

Do I Qualify for Pupil Premium?

You can register your child for free school meals if you get any of these benefits

• Universal Credit with an annual earned income of no more that £7,400 after tax (excluding benefits). 
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Support under Part V1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual income is below the qualifying threshold set by HMRC 

For families on Universal Credit, the key figure is:

• Annual earned income of £7,400.00 or less after tax (not including benefits).  

For more information see the link below:

Bolton Council | Free School Meals & Help with School Uniform

How Do I Apply?

If you think your child may eligible to receive this additional funding and support but you are not sure whether the school are aware of this, please speak in confidence to Mrs Fielden or Mrs Conroy.  Alternatively, please follow the link below and complete the form.

Bolton Council | Form

How Do We Intend to Spend the Funding?

If your child is eligible to receive free school meals we can help to pay for your child’s trips, daily snacks, additional teaching from qualified staff and purchase additional resources, if required.

At St Thomas’ CE Primary School we review our strategy on an annual basis to ensure we meet the needs of the children.

Please see below how we have spent the additional years funding and how we are spending the funding for the current academic year.