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Don’t forget to check out the Family Support Padlet for information about autism, support, and local clubs/activities: https://padlet.com/SENStraining/local-support-for-families-on-the-autism-spectrum-in-luton-mtm5uir9ki60onhb

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All dates for FLAG and SWAN meetings for this academic year can be found here, along with further information about what to expect at each group: https://padlet.com/SENStraining/luton-family-support-groups-autism-518smbykj5ipp8vt

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If you are interested in being trained please contact LBC virtual school

PLACVirtualSchool@luton.gov.uk

for support with funding

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Catch Up Literacy supporting reading for Foster and Kinship Carers - Information

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Online and Face to face training for Kinship carers - browse here.

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Free training and events for kinship carers | Kinship

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Our free workshops, training and events are run online and in-person. They help kinship carers navigate a complex system.

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This is a really helpful tool from adoption UK to reflect on your own school practice

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Adopters Together Support Line Poster - Adopted Parents

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Can their work help you or your family? Contact details are at the end.

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Backlash over ‘distressing’ cuts to adoption fund

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The amount of funding families can access to pay for therapy for adopted children has been cut by 40%.

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Download our app to support with a range of bite size training

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Download our app to support with a range of bite size training

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Download our app to support with a range of bite size training

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Education Service

PAC-UK's Education Service offers a range of services to enable schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals to meet the needs of children who have experienced difficult starts in life.

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Education Service

Children and young people who have experienced early life trauma can experience a range of challenges in school. The Department for Education is increasingly recognising the long term impact of trauma and loss.

PAC-UK's Education Service offers a range of services to enable schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals to meet the needs of children who have experienced difficult starts in life. As an education provider you can use Pupil Premium Plus to purchase any of our specialist education services:

Please note, all prices listed on this page are exclusive of VAT and travel costs. All information processed in relation to your enquiry and/or booking adheres to PAC-UK's Privacy Policy.

PAC-UK Education Service Presents: e-Learning

The online training for education professionals on attachment: a self-guided route to becoming an adoption friendly school

I would highly recommend this training to anyone interested in schools, trauma, attachment and loss or are working with adoption children. It's one of the best value for money bits of e-training I've undertaken! Stuart Guest, Headteacher at Colebourne Primary School in Birmingham

Stuart Guest published a detailed review of his PAC-UK e-Learning experience on his blog here.
Whilst PAC-UK's training is centred on the needs of previously looked after children, the e-learning is relevant in supporting and meeting the needs of all vulnerable children - a key focus area for Ofsted. The training is relevant for everyone who works in or alongside schools, early years and FE settings. Developed with funding from the Department of Education, the e-learning has three modules:

Module 1 Understanding attachment and trauma: Explores the needs of children that have experienced a difficult start in life

Module 2 Creating adoption friendly classrooms and schools: Provides strategies to support vulnerable children in the classroom

Module 3 Becoming an adoption friendly school: Delivers ideas on how to make whole school systems suitable for children that have experienced early life trauma

Our engaging videos and specialist trainers will guide you through each module, culminating in quizzes to consolidate your learning.

Upon successful completion of the final quiz for each module, this training counts as 3 hours CPD training.

Prices start at £35 plus VAT per licence with discounts available for purchases of over 10 group licences.

Online payments - Once payment is made you will receive instant access to the information you need to activate your e-Learning licences and access content:
For online payments - purchase your e-Learning licence/s here for instant access
Invoice and purchase order payments - If you unable to make an online payment for your e-Learning licence/s and/or require an invoice before making payment (please note, for invoice and purchase order payments you will not receive your e-Learning site access information until your order has been processed):
For invoice and purchase order payments - order your e-Learning licence/s here
The below video gives a taster of what you can expect from the training. You can also download our e-Learning Promotional Flyer. For further enquiries please contact us by emailing education@pac-uk.org

Training & Consultations for Education Providers

Our training helps participants to understand trauma, loss and attachment, and provides practical evidence-informed strategies to support children. Following our partnership with Adoption UK, PAC-UK's education training now encompasses elements of Adoption UK's 'Life in The Classroom' to offer a combined training product suitable for a wide range of education professionals, including teaching staff, ITT providers, teaching assistants, SENCo's and other professionals working with children in education.

Education providers can buy in sessions lasting 1.5 hours (£300), 2 hours (£350) and 3 hours (£450). PAC-UK also offer consultations which focus on specific children. These child-focused consultations support the team around the child to understand the child's strengths and difficulties in light of their early life experiences, and to agree to a support plan based on evidence-informed interventions. We also offer systemic consultations to schools, to develop whole-school good practice and policies.

We also offer adoption friendly schools consultations and reviews (£450). Our specialist advisers will guide senior leaders and key staff from your school to develop whole-school good practice. Focussing on your school's needs you will explore systemic change to support children who have experienced abuse, trauma and loss in their early lives. More information can be found on our (below) Education Service Overview Leaflet.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form. For further enquiries please contact us by emailing education@pac-uk.org

For more information on our full range of services for education providers, download our PAC-UK Education Service Overview Promotional Leaflet.

Intensive casework

If you are a school or local authority that would like to commission intensive casework, please email education@pac-uk.org. If you are a parent or guardian, please use our education advice line (Wednesdays from 10am - 12pm term time only), or email education@pac-uk.org

We also work jointly with our Child & Family Service in London and Leeds to provide educational assessments and consultations as part of our packages of therapeutic support for families.

Commissioned training days

We offer a range of training days which are commissioned by adoption services and virtual schools for adoptive parents, special guardians, school staff and education and social care professionals. Current training days include:

The adopted child in school: Understanding and meeting children's educational needs

All change: Supporting adopted and permanently placed children with transitions

Spending it wisely: Effective use of the Pupil Premium Plus

Becoming adoption friendly schools: Support on the journey

Developing children's executive functioning skills

Commissioned bespoke training

Designated Teacher training

To commission a training day or enquire about a bespoke training day, please complete our online booking form. For further enquiries please contact us by emailing education@pac-uk.org

In addition the commissioned training days listed above, we also put on specialist topic training events (open to all) which are delivered from our Leeds or London offices from time to time. Details of upcoming training events can be found below.

Therapeutic Services for Education Providers

We are pleased to announce that PAC-UK are able to provide therapeutic services to education providers in and around London and across the Yorkshire and Humber region to further support the needs of your pupils, staff and parents.

Our therapy (both Dramatherapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) aims to improve the experience of the child in education and will therefore include feedback and review sessions with the staff and parent/carers, including therapeutic recommendations. All our therapists are fully qualified (and registered with appropriate governing bodies e.g. HCPC/BACP), and experienced in working with adoption, looked-after children, trauma and families and staff experiencing difficulties at school.

Dramatherapy Groups for Children (London only)

We work in a joined up way with parents and staff to enable a developmental process that works towards increased Emotional Regulation, awareness of Executive Functioning and Self-Reflectivity.

The price is £535 per child, based on 4 children attending an 8 weekly dramatherapy programme (one session per week).

For one to one therapeutic work, the price is £795 for an 8 week programme (once a week) including feedback and review sessions.

Our 8 Week Dramatherapy Programme for Schools Brochure provides detailed information on course content and structure.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 1:1 for children and young people (Yorkshire and Humber only)

Our Education & Wellbeing Workers are able to provide short term therapy to support children who may be experiencing some of the following: anxiety, depression, problems with peer relationships, bullying, self-esteem or confidence issues, school or exam concerns (please note this list is not exhaustive, other difficulties can be discussed to assess their suitability for this therapy).

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is an approach to therapy that considers: how we think affects how we feel and what we do, and how these elements are all interlinked. CBT is based in the here and now and is goal focussed and client led, it is not trauma focussed therapy. For one to one therapeutic work, the price is £795 for an 8 week programme (once a week) including feedback and review sessions.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Reflection and Consultation Groups for Staff (both regions)

Reflection and Consultation Groups provide a facilitated space for staff to share reflections, thoughts and strategies around the needs of a particular child, a group of children or a whole class.

It is a collaborative and practical process which draws from the principles of Attachment Theory. Action-plans and strategies emerging from the groups can lead to real change affected through relational, social and psychological ways.

An initial 1.5 hour consultation is followed by a one hour review approximately 4-6 weeks later (£450).

Regular groups which would meet every two weeks, for schools looking for more intensive support, can also be commissioned.

Please note, these can be co-facilitated with a member of staff as a CPD opportunity to develop their skills and enable them to hold future sessions independently.

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Reflective Groups for Parents (both regions)

Parental Reflective Groups provide collaborative opportunities to work with and support the parents/carers of vulnerable children.

Bridging home with school/other education provision is an effective way to bring consistency, safety and care for children needing additional support. Ideally these are co-facilitated by a member PAC-UK's Education Service and a member of staff, though PAC-UK can facilitate independently if needed (6x 1.5 hour sessions £1,500).

To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

For more information about our Therapeutic Services please contact us via phone 0113 264 6837 or email education@pac-uk.org

Our Therapeutic Services for Education Providers Flyer provides additional information.

Support for specific Local Authorities

PAC-UK has service level agreements with 76 local authorities in England, including education support in some areas. To find out what support you may be entitled to please contact your local authority post adoption support team or contact us.

Adoption-Friendly Schools Book and Toolkit

Between November 2015 and February 2016, more than 400 adoptive parents, special guardians, school staff, education and social care professionals took part in our online consultation about what it means to be an adoption friendly school. The result of this research culminated in our:

'Becoming an Adoption-Friendly School' book

A complete guide to support schools and other education providers in meeting the needs of children who have experienced trauma or loss. The book was published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in April 2017 and can be purchased via Amazon here. For bulk orders please email education@pac-uk.org

Purchase of the book provides access to the online toolkit, a bank of resources, templates and policies to help schools on the way. The book's launch took place on 15 May 2017 at the Royal Society of Medicine.

Charter

Our charter is free to download and can be used by schools to communicate their efforts and journey towards becoming adoption friendly!

Adoption Friendly Schools Training Course

A six day training course delivered across the school year (£3,995). The six workshops will guide you through the steps towards become more adoption friendly by implementing whole school change, offering opportunities to share good practice with a wider school network and receive support in your journey from our Education Advisers.

Detailed information on course content and FAQ's can be found on our 'Becoming an Adoption Friendly School' - Course Flyer. To make a provisional booking complete our online booking form.

Enquires about the book, toolkit and course can be directed to education@pac-uk.org

Education Advice Line

Our Education Advice Line is open every Wednesday during school term times between 10am and 12pm (limited to 15 minutes per call). Staffed by our Education Advisers, this is an opportunity for adoptive parents, special guardians, school staff and social workers to talk through any school or educational concerns regarding adopted or special guardianship children, and receive advice and support. The telephone number is 0207 284 5879. You can also access support and advice by emailing education@pac-uk.org.

Should you require more time than the 15 minutes, we now offer 30 minute and 60 minute bookable consultations. You can request these via our education advice line e-mail education@pac-uk.org or via our online booking form. These can be funded privately or can sometimes be provided by your local authority if PAC-UK have been commissioned. We can advise you which options are available to you.

Education Resources

We have developed a range of resources to support families, schools and local authorities in meeting the educational needs of adopted and special guardianship children.

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Education Service Children and young people who have experienced early life trauma can experience a range of challenges in school. The Department for Education is increasingly recognising the long term impact of trauma and loss. PAC-UK's Education Service offers a range of services to enable schools, parents and guardians and education and social care professionals [...]

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Funding for therapeutic services for adopted children | Adoption England

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The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) is provided by the Department for Education (DfE) and makes funding available for regional adoption agencies and local authorities to access therapeutic services for adopted children and young adults. The amount per child per year is £5,000 for therapy, as well as a separate amount of up to £2,500 per child if special assessments are needed. In exceptional cases, where there is an urgent need for higher cost support, local authorities or regional adoption agencies are asked to match-fund applications.

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Is your child under 5? Claim free books for them through the imagination library

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Do you know who your kinship carers are?

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Do you know who your kinship carers are?

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What is kinship care?

Kinship care is any situation in which a child is being raised in the care of a friend or family member who is not their parent. This can be a short term, temporary arrangement. Or it may be longer term.

Someone who is raising a child in this way is known as a kinship carer. Kinship carers used to be known as family and friends’ carers.

Who can be a kinship carer?

A kinship carer may be a relative or family friend. Or they may be someone else who has a connection with the child.

Kinship care can involve someone who is a close relative of the child. The law says a kinship carer is a close relative of the child if they are the child’s:

Grandparent, brother or sister

Uncle, aunt or step-parent

Half-brother and or half-sister who share only one parent.

A close relative also includes someone who is related to the child by marriage or civil partnership. For example, a parent’s husband or wife or stepbrothers and stepsisters.

But a kinship care does not have to involve someone who is a close relative. For example, a kinship carer may be

A close relative of the child’s half-blood brother or sister

Someone who was previously the child’s step-parent. It does not matter if the person has, or ever had, parental responsibility for the child

Someone who used to cohabit with the child’s parent AND had a ‘parent-like’ relationship with the child

A close friend of the child

A close friend of the child’s parent

A close friend of someone who is the child’s close relative. For example a longstanding friend of the child’s grandparent

Someone else who has a connection with the child. Or used to have a connection with the child. Examples may include a teacher, youth worker, childminder or the child’s former foster carer.

There are different types of kinship care arrangements. A kinship carer may be raising a child under:

A private family arrangement

Private fostering

A ‘lives with’ child arrangements order

A special guardianship order (SGO)

Kinship foster care

Adoption.

The type of kinship care arrangement effects:

What practical and financial support is available to the kinship carer and child

The extent of support likely to be provided to the kinship carer. And to the child

Who has parental responsibility and can make decisions about the child.

This means it is very important for families to have the right information and advice about kinship care. That includes kinship carers and people who are thinking about becoming kinship carers.

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There is funding available if the parents work:

From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours childcare support.

From September 2024, 15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.

From September 2025, eligible working parents of children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week.

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Use this calculator to find out how much you could get towards approved childcare, including:

free childcare for children aged between 2 and 4

help with childcare costs if your child is under 16 (or under 17 and disabled)

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Check what help you could get with childcare costs

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Use this calculator to find out how much you could get towards approved childcare, including: free childcare for children aged between 2 and 4 help with childcare costs if your child is under 16 (or under 17 and disabled)

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Useful points to note:

Each school should have a designated teacher who supports PLAC

Schools receive pupil premium plus directly for each child whose parents or guardians disclose are PLAC

The Virtual School only provides advice and guidance and does not do case work with PLAC

The Virtual School does not hold funding for PLAC

Before any case can be discussed with the Virtual School disclosing names of children parental consent is required.

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How the Virtual School can support Kinship Carers

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How the Virtual School can support Kinship Carers

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Do you need help with college applications? Key information below

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Do you need help with college applications? Key information below

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Get your children off to a Flying start in Luton. See here details of Family Hubs

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Flying Start is a partnership approach to the delivery of services for families in Luton, with a focus on the antenatal period and the early years. The Early Years Alliance and partners, working alongside local communities and parents, are committed to delivering the Flying Start vision and strategy and supporting children to have a flying start in life.

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WELCOME TO FLYING START "Flying Start will make a positive and systematic change to the lives and life chances of babies and young children from pregnancy to five years of age in Luton for future generations." ABOUT US Flying Start is a partnership approach to the delivery

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Luton Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Information, Advice and Support service

A free, confidential and impartial service

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The Luton Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS) was previously known as the Luton Parent Partnership. The information, advice and support provided is to help enable children, young people and their parents / carers to participate in decisions regarding their education needs, in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. We provide information and support to: parents / carers of children with SEN or disabilities children and young people with SEN or disabilities What is an information, advice and support service? Watch the video below for an explanation of the service. What can Luton SENDIAS do? We offer confidential, impartial and accurate information relating to children and young people with special educational needs and/or disability. This includes: Information SEN Code of Practice - 2001 and 2014 Special education need processes Your rights and options How you can access support – including independent support Advice Listen and provide encouragement Help you make sense of information and apply it to your own situation Discuss options and look at the possible consequences of the choices available to you. Support Supporting you in discussions with the local authority, school or other settings Attending meetings with you Helping you understand official reports and write letters Provide you with a volunteer who can support you. Who to contact if you need information, advice or support relating to the special education needs For further information on Luton SENDIAS service please visit our website that is accessible to all service users Who to contact if you need information, advice or support relating to the special education needs For further information on the Luton SENDIAS service please visit our website that is accessible to all service users. If you would like to access free confidential information, advice and support you can complete an online contact form.

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See below details of information for carers of children and young people with SEND

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Support available for children, young people with special education needs or a disability aged 0-25 years

The Luton Local Offer helps you find information about local services, support and events for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). More about what the Local Offer is.

Get some advice

Luton Emotional Wellbeing Information Resource

If your child is struggling with their mental health, there are a number of local and national services offering information, advice and support for children and young people aged 0-25 years.

Social media and the Local Offer

Right now we're posting, sharing and tweeting lots of information to help support SEND families and professionals. If you don't follow us on either or both of the social media channels, here's what you'll need.

Luton Local Offer on Twitter Luton Local Offer on Facebook

Find services by age

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Luton's Local Offer SEND information hub

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The Luton Local Offer helps you find information about local services, support and events for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). More about what the Local Offer is.

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Mental health issues affecting a pupil’s attendance: guidance for schools

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Summary of responsibilities where a mental health issue is affecting attendance and examples of effective practice.

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Mental health issues affecting a pupil’s attendance: guidance for schools

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Summary of responsibilities where a mental health issue is affecting attendance and examples of effective practice.

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This guidance is an overview of pupil premium for school staff, parents and anyone else interested in the pupil premium.

Purpose

The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. In the financial year 2023-24, pupil premium spending will increase to almost £2.9 billion.

We want to support all schools to use the wealth of evidence of 'what works', evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation ( EEF), to use this funding effectively.

Eligible schools

The following types of school are eligible to receive an allocation of pupil premium.

Local authority-maintained schools

This includes:

mainstream infant, primary, middle, junior, secondary and all-through schools serving children in year groups reception to year 11

schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities

pupil referral units (PRUs), for children who do not go to a mainstream school

local authority-maintained hospital schools

Academies, free schools and non-maintained special schools

This includes:

mainstream academies serving children in year groups reception to year 11

academies and non-maintained special schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities

alternative provision (AP) academies, for children who do not go to a mainstream school

Pupil premium is also provided to local authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the local authority pays full tuition fees.

Pupil eligibility

The following groups are eligible for pupil premium:

pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals, or have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years, including eligible children of families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

children looked after by local authorities, referred to as looked-after children

children previously looked after by a local authority or other state care, referred to as previously looked-after children

Funding rates for financial year 2023-24

This table shows how the pupil premium grant is allocated to schools and local authorities in financial year 2023-24, based on per pupil rates.

Pupil eligibility criteria

Amount of funding for each primary-aged pupil per year

Amount of funding for each secondary-aged pupil per year

Funding is paid to

Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years

£1,455

£1,035

School

Pupils previously looked after by a local authority or other state care

£2,530

£2,530

School

Children who are looked after by the local authority

£2,530

£2,530

Local authority

The government has permanently extended free school meal ( FSM) eligibility to include children in all households with NRPF. These pupils should now be recorded as FSM eligible in the school census and their pupil premium eligibility will follow on from that automatically.

From 1 April 2023, pupil premium eligibility for pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care will include children adopted from state care or equivalent from outside England and Wales.

Funding for looked-after children will be paid to the local authority and should be managed by the virtual school head in consultation with the child's school.

The pupil premium allocations and conditions of grant for financial year 2023-24 provide further information.

Payment schedule for financial year 2023-24

Payments will be sent to local authorities on:

30 June 2023

29 September 2023

29 December 2023

28 March 2024

Payments will be sent to academy trusts (and free schools) on:

Payments will be sent to non-maintained special schools in:

Service pupil premium

Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools with pupils who have parents serving in the armed forces. It has been combined into pupil premium payments to make it easier for schools to manage their spending.

Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract the service pupil premium grant, at the rate of £335 per eligible pupil in financial year 2023-24, if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces, including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service - this includes pupils with a parent who is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England

registered as a 'service child' on any school census in the past 6 years

one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme

This funding is primarily to enable schools to offer pastoral support and help mitigate the negative impact of family mobility or parental deployment. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if the school deems this to be a priority.

Funding paid to schools

To ensure that pupil premium is focused on effective approaches to raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the 'menu of approaches' set by the Department for Education.

The menu has been developed in line with the EEF 's 3-tiered approach to help school allocate spending across the following 3 areas:

supporting the high-quality teaching, such as staff professional development

providing targeted academic support, such as tutoring, including through the National Tutoring Programme

tackling non-academic barriers to academic success, such as difficulties in attendance, behaviour and social and emotional wellbeing

In line with the EEF 's recommended approach, schools should prioritise high-quality teaching, though the exact balance of spending between tiers will vary depending on the specific needs of pupils.

Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils, and schools do not have to spend pupil premium so that it solely benefits eligible pupils.

Pupil premium can be used to support other pupils with identified needs, such as pupils who have or have had a social worker, or pupils who act as a carer. It can also be used for whole class interventions, for example high-quality teaching, which will also benefit non-disadvantaged pupils.

High attaining eligible pupils should receive just as much focus as lower attaining eligible pupils when it comes to spending funding. Evidence shows that eligible pupils who are among the highest performers at key stage 2 are more likely than their non-eligible peers to fall behind by key stage 4.

Funding for looked-after children

Virtual school heads are responsible for managing the funding given to local authorities for the children in their care. They work with schools to ensure the funding is used to help deliver the outcomes identified in the children's personal education plans.

They can pass all the funding on to schools or retain some to fund activities that will benefit a group of, or all, the authority's looked-after children.

There is separate guidance about virtual school heads' responsibilities for using pupil premium.

Accountability

Schools must show how they are using their pupil premium effectively:

by publishing a statement on their website which presents an overview of their pupil premium strategy, and demonstrates that their use of the funding meets the requirements of the conditions of grant

through inspections by Ofsted - inspectors may discuss plans schools have to spend their pupil premium

through scrutiny of pupil premium plans by governors and trustees

Virtual school heads demonstrate to Ofsted how they are managing pupil premium for looked-after children in their virtual school annual report.

Schools are also held to account for the outcomes achieved by their disadvantaged pupils through published performance tables.

Further information

For more information, read the guidance for school leaders on using pupil premium and the EEF's guide to using pupil premium.

The allocations and conditions of grant show:

the funding given to each school

the totals at national, local authority and parliamentary constituency level

how pupil premium funding must be spent

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This guidance is an overview of pupil premium for school staff, parents and anyone else interested in the pupil premium. The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. In the financial year 2023-24, pupil premium spending will increase to almost £2.9 billion.

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Government publications to keep you informed

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Government publications to keep you informed

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Kinship Training Events - A4 Flyer (Professionals)

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See the range of online workshops here to support you with your kinship journey

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Luton - A place to thrive! We hope you will find the information here useful.

The Virtual School can offer advice and support for PLAC, Kinship/SGO care through advice and signposting

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Special guardians financial support and benefits

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Information and advice on the financial support and government benefits available to kinship carers with a special guardianship order.

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Kinship provides a range of support and workshops - definitely worth a detailed look if you are a kinship carer

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This guidance is an overview of pupil premium for school staff, parents and anyone else interested in the pupil premium.

Purpose

The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. In the financial year 2023-24, pupil premium spending will increase to almost £2.9 billion.

We want to support all schools to use the wealth of evidence of 'what works', evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation ( EEF), to use this funding effectively.

Eligible schools

The following types of school are eligible to receive an allocation of pupil premium.

Local authority-maintained schools

This includes:

mainstream infant, primary, middle, junior, secondary and all-through schools serving children in year groups reception to year 11

schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities

pupil referral units (PRUs), for children who do not go to a mainstream school

local authority-maintained hospital schools

Academies, free schools and non-maintained special schools

This includes:

mainstream academies serving children in year groups reception to year 11

academies and non-maintained special schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities

alternative provision (AP) academies, for children who do not go to a mainstream school

Pupil premium is also provided to local authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the local authority pays full tuition fees.

Pupil eligibility

The following groups are eligible for pupil premium:

pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals, or have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years, including eligible children of families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

children looked after by local authorities, referred to as looked-after children

children previously looked after by a local authority or other state care, referred to as previously looked-after children

Funding rates for financial year 2023-24

This table shows how the pupil premium grant is allocated to schools and local authorities in financial year 2023-24, based on per pupil rates.

Pupil eligibility criteria

Amount of funding for each primary-aged pupil per year

Amount of funding for each secondary-aged pupil per year

Funding is paid to

Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years

£1,455

£1,035

School

Pupils previously looked after by a local authority or other state care

£2,530

£2,530

School

Children who are looked after by the local authority

£2,530

£2,530

Local authority

The government has permanently extended free school meal ( FSM) eligibility to include children in all households with NRPF. These pupils should now be recorded as FSM eligible in the school census and their pupil premium eligibility will follow on from that automatically.

From 1 April 2023, pupil premium eligibility for pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care will include children adopted from state care or equivalent from outside England and Wales.

Funding for looked-after children will be paid to the local authority and should be managed by the virtual school head in consultation with the child's school.

The pupil premium allocations and conditions of grant for financial year 2023-24 provide further information.

Payment schedule for financial year 2023-24

Payments will be sent to local authorities on:

30 June 2023

29 September 2023

29 December 2023

28 March 2024

Payments will be sent to academy trusts (and free schools) on:

Payments will be sent to non-maintained special schools in:

Service pupil premium

Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools with pupils who have parents serving in the armed forces. It has been combined into pupil premium payments to make it easier for schools to manage their spending.

Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract the service pupil premium grant, at the rate of £335 per eligible pupil in financial year 2023-24, if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces, including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service - this includes pupils with a parent who is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England

registered as a 'service child' on any school census in the past 6 years

one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme

This funding is primarily to enable schools to offer pastoral support and help mitigate the negative impact of family mobility or parental deployment. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if the school deems this to be a priority.

Funding paid to schools

To ensure that pupil premium is focused on effective approaches to raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the 'menu of approaches' set by the Department for Education.

The menu has been developed in line with the EEF 's 3-tiered approach to help school allocate spending across the following 3 areas:

supporting the high-quality teaching, such as staff professional development

providing targeted academic support, such as tutoring, including through the National Tutoring Programme

tackling non-academic barriers to academic success, such as difficulties in attendance, behaviour and social and emotional wellbeing

In line with the EEF 's recommended approach, schools should prioritise high-quality teaching, though the exact balance of spending between tiers will vary depending on the specific needs of pupils.

Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils, and schools do not have to spend pupil premium so that it solely benefits eligible pupils.

Pupil premium can be used to support other pupils with identified needs, such as pupils who have or have had a social worker, or pupils who act as a carer. It can also be used for whole class interventions, for example high-quality teaching, which will also benefit non-disadvantaged pupils.

High attaining eligible pupils should receive just as much focus as lower attaining eligible pupils when it comes to spending funding. Evidence shows that eligible pupils who are among the highest performers at key stage 2 are more likely than their non-eligible peers to fall behind by key stage 4.

Funding for looked-after children

Virtual school heads are responsible for managing the funding given to local authorities for the children in their care. They work with schools to ensure the funding is used to help deliver the outcomes identified in the children's personal education plans.

They can pass all the funding on to schools or retain some to fund activities that will benefit a group of, or all, the authority's looked-after children.

There is separate guidance about virtual school heads' responsibilities for using pupil premium.

Accountability

Schools must show how they are using their pupil premium effectively:

by publishing a statement on their website which presents an overview of their pupil premium strategy, and demonstrates that their use of the funding meets the requirements of the conditions of grant

through inspections by Ofsted - inspectors may discuss plans schools have to spend their pupil premium

through scrutiny of pupil premium plans by governors and trustees

Virtual school heads demonstrate to Ofsted how they are managing pupil premium for looked-after children in their virtual school annual report.

Schools are also held to account for the outcomes achieved by their disadvantaged pupils through published performance tables.

Further information

For more information, read the guidance for school leaders on using pupil premium and the EEF's guide to using pupil premium.

The allocations and conditions of grant show:

the funding given to each school

the totals at national, local authority and parliamentary constituency level

how pupil premium funding must be spent

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This guidance is an overview of pupil premium for school staff, parents and anyone else interested in the pupil premium. The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. In the financial year 2023-24, pupil premium spending will increase to almost £2.9 billion.

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