Pupil Premium

What is the pupil premium?

The pupil premium is extra money for schools provided directly by the Department for Education (DfE) to help disadvantaged pupils of all abilities achieve their full potential.  The amount of pupil premium funding schools receive is decided by how many disadvantaged pupils they have – schools then receive funding per pupil premium-eligible child.

At Rokeby School, we ensure that we follow the updated guidance from the DfE regarding how we both plan and spend our pupil premium grant monies.  At our school, nearly half our pupils are eligible for this additional grant.

Why does the pupil premium exist?

Research by the DfE shows that, nationally, students who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible.  The pupil premium grant is intended to help schools to deploy any additional resources that these students may benefit from accessing in order to close the attainment gap.

Who is eligible?

From September 2023 the premium will be worth £1,035 and goes to students who at any point in the past 6 years have been in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM). £2,530 goes to any student who has been continuously looked after for the past six months or who has been adopted from care under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 or who has left care under a Special Guardianship or Residence Order.  £300 goes to students whose parent/parents are currently serving in the armed forces or are in receipt of a pension from the Ministry of Defence.

How do we spend our pupil premium allocation?

How the pupil premium is spent is monitored closely by the DFE with all schools accountable for the impact of the money spent.  A detailed review of our strategy and how we spend our allocation is provided in this report, updated in January 2025.