Three in four schools say a lack of pupil premium funding is hampering support for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils, a government survey suggests.
The Department for Education has published research into how the pupil premium and recovery premium schemes are used by schools.
The pupil premium is paid to schools for all pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at some point in the previous six years. The recovery premium was paid to schools in the wake of the Covid pandemic to aid with catch-up.
As part of its research, the government surveyed 2,152 schools and 324 academy trusts.
Asked about the “challenges to planning and delivering support”, 74 per cent of schools cited an “insufficient level of pupil premium funding”.
Funding cut in real-terms
Pupil premium cash for schools has not kept up with inflation. In December 2013 the Institute for Fiscal Studies found its value had fallen by 14 per cent in real terms since 2015. The report acknowledged the “purchasing power of pupil premium has fallen in recent years”.
It comes after the government announced pupil premium funding will rise by just 2.3 per cent next year, at a time when schools are facing a 3.6 per cent increase in costs.
Asked further about challenges to planning and delivery, 64 per cent of schools surveyed raised an increase in the proportion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
And 56 per cent flagged the fact “that some FSM-eligible pupils were not registered and so did not attract premia funding”.
Findings from trusts were “consistent with this”.
The study also found the lack of engagement from both parents and pupils was a “major challenge to delivery”.
Forty-seven per cent of schools raised a lack of parental engagement, while 27 per cent cited a lack of pupil engagement or difficulties getting pupils to attend.
Most schools say funding gives them better strategy
Despite the concerns about delivery, the survey found schools had a favourable opinion about the impact of premium funding.
“Almost all schools felt the premia funding had a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes, particularly on overall wellbeing, attainment and attendance,” the report said.
Fifty-seven per cent said having it “means the school puts more effort into helping disadvantaged pupils”.
Eighty-five per cent of schools and 91 per cent of trusts said having the pupil premium meant they had “a better strategy for meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils”.
The survey also suggests an improvement in transparency over how pupil premium funding is spent.
Schools have a legal duty to publish pupil premium strategies on their websites.
In 2022-23, only 80 per cent of schools sampled by DfE had published one. Today’s survey found the proportion now reporting that they published them stands at 97 per cent.
Schools faced cutting provision as recovery premium ended
Schools no longer receive the recovery premium after the programme finished at the end of the last academic year.
In the survey, they were asked last year how they planned to fill the gap.
Fifty-two per cent said they would stop providing some forms of support, and the same proportion said they would need to look for cost-savings elsewhere.
School leaders in the qualitative interviews “also discussed plans which included removing some types of support, such as one-to-one tutoring and extra-curricular activities/trips, as well as reducing numbers of support staff.
Trust leaders in the qualitative research “had a similar view to school leaders when asked about how they would cope with the end of recovery premium. They discussed how schools would need to reduce or stop delivering specific support.”
