Pupil Premium Plus
The Department for Education (DfE) allocates the Pupil Premium Plus (PPP) grant to each Local authority.
The purpose of the grant is to close the attainment gap for children in care so as to improve their educational outcomes.
The DfE publishes a document which sets out the arrangements and funding allocations for all types of pupil premium including PPP.
Currently schools receive three termly instalments of £500 per child in care.
Eligibility
Pupil Premium Plus funding is available for children who have had the following:
- adoption order (AO)
- special guardianship (SGO)
- child arrangements order (CAO) - previously known as a residence order
The child or young person must have been in local authority care for at least one day.
Pupil Premium Plus funding
Looked after children (LAC)
The Virtual School Headteacher is responsible for the use of PPP for looked after children (LAC) and it is administered in Birmingham as per our Pupil Premium Plus policy for Birmingham children in care.
Previously looked after children (PLAC)
PLAC are also eligible to receive PPP funding. However, 'Post-LAC' PPP funding is not received or managed by the virtual school.
Pupil premium funding is available to:
- schools maintained by the local authority, including schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities or pupil referral units (PRUs) for children who can not go to a mainstream school
- academies and free schools, including specialist SEND provision and alternative provision (AP) , for children who struggle to attend a mainstream school
- voluntary-sector AP, with local authority agreement
- non-maintained special schools (NMSS), for children with special educational needs as approved by the Secretary of State for Education under section 342 of the Education Act 1992
The Department for Education publish for each academic year.
Accessing the funding
For schools to access the funding, parents and guardians must declare their child’s adoptive, SGO or CAO status directly to the school before the school completes the census.
Parents and guardians must provide evidence, for example, a copy of the legal order, or a confirmation letter from the local authority which placed their child. Parents should not need to declare their child’s status again until their child changes school.
To receive the funding, it is the responsibility of the school the child attends to formally record their previously looked-after status in their annual January school census, with funding then allocated in the summer.
If a child's PLAC status is not recorded at this point, schools may face a delay of over one year before this funding can be allocated.
Use of the funding
This money is not ring-fenced for one child, so it allows the school flexibility to ensure maximum impact for this cohort of children. The school can make the final decision, but it is best practice that the decision is made after parental consultation.
Designated teachers or persons should encourage the parents and guardians’ involvement in deciding how the PPP is used to support their child, then parents or guardians will be aware of its use.
This might be done at an information-sharing meeting with all parents, or on an individual basis.
Having meetings with the designated teacher is a very useful and effective way of discussing the progress and needs of the child as well as discussing (if appropriate) the use of PPP funding.
Although the virtual school does not receive PLAC PPP funding, we can provide advice on how it can be used effectively.
Page last updated: 15 May 2024