Pupil Premium Plus (PP+)

Pupil Premium (PP) is funding designed to help disadvantaged pupils of all abilities achieve higher attainment levels, closing the gap between themselves and their peers. This is different to Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) which is a higher level of funding specifically for children in care and previously in care, in recognition of the impact trauma and loss can have on their lives.

How is PP+ administered?

PP+ is available to eligible statutory school age children in care and previously in care. The care status of the child determines how the money is administered:

children in care: PP+ for eligible children is released to their schools by the Virtual School
children previously in care: PP+ is paid directly to the school or academy

PP+ in Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire releases £2100 across the year of the allocated £2410. School and education settings request the £700 pupil premium+ per term through the targets section of our child’s PEP. Funding is approved by Assistant Head of Virtual School and is released to schools on a termly basis. The Virtual School retains the remaining £310 centrally. This is used towards Virtual School projects and initiatives to raised attainment and achievement of targeted groups of children and young people.

Nottinghamshire Pupil Premium Plus Statement [PDF]

PP+ for pupils attending education out of Nottinghamshire

For those eligible pupils who are not placed within Nottinghamshire borders for their education, the system for applying for pupil premium is the same as for Nottinghamshire schools and settings. A data request is sent via a secure email system which asks for the progress and attainment information on the pupil and, if eligible for pupil premium plus, how the funding will be used to support improvements in their outcomes. On return of this information and approval by the virtual school funding will be released to the school or setting. The statement issued by Nottinghamshire County Council on pupil premium plus expenditure will also be sent to out of county establishments and these expectations should be adhered to when applying for the funding.

Nottinghamshire Pupil Premium Plus Statement [PDF]

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Children between the ages of 3 and 4 attending early years settings are eligible for EYPP. A child qualifies for this funding if they have been in local authority care for 1 day or more in England or Wales.

If the child is attending an early year setting in Nottinghamshire the setting will receive payments from the local authority. However, as part of the Personal Education Plan (PEP) process the Virtual School would expect providers and social care to identify in the targets section, how the EYPP will be used to benefit the child's educational attainment or development needs. SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Limited) targets should be added to the PEP identifying how the EYPP will be used to benefit the child's attainment and educational development. Early years settings can currently claim £300 per academic year per looked after child.

Children attending an out of county early years setting

If a child is looked after by Nottinghamshire County Council but attending an out of county early years setting the setting, the setting will receive the EYPP from the local authority were the child's educational setting is situated. PEP's should also be in place for these children which identifies the support PP+ is funding.

How can PP+ be used?

PP+ is additional to the funds a school would normally receive for any child attending their setting. For children in care, the funding should be used to help bridge gaps, improve participation, raise attainment and achievement, and improve educational outcomes. This funding is in addition to the interventions or support a school would normally put in place for any child. The DfE have published guidance [PDF] outlining that to get the most out of PP+, the spending should include approaches that are:

individually tailored to the needs and strengths of each child
consistent (based on agreed core principles) but also flexible and responsive
based on evidence of what works
focused on clear short-term goals which give opportunities for pupils to experience success
include regular, high quality feedback from teaching staff
engage parents/carers in the agreement and evaluation of arrangements for education support (e.g. via the Personal Education Plan)
supporting pupil transition (e.g. primary-secondary)
raising aspirations through access to high-quality educational experiences
promoting the young person's awareness and understanding of their own thought processes (metacognition) and help to develop problem-solving strategies (and executive functioning skills)

Which emphasise:

relationship-building, both with appropriate adults and with peers
an emotionally-intelligent approach to the setting of clear behaviour boundaries
the importance of increasing pupil's understanding of their own emotions and identity
positive reinforcement
building self-esteem
relevance to the learner: relate to pupil's interests where possible, make it matter to them
a joined-up approach involving social workers, carers, schools and any other relevant professionals
the importance of a strong, visionary and inclusive school leadership team
a child-centred approach to assessment for learning

Recovery Premium 2023-2024

The recovery premium grant is part of the government’s package of funding to support pupils whose education has been impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19). It is focused on Pupil Premium eligible pupils due to the additional impact of the pandemic on these students. For Looked After Children, the recovery premium is paid to the Virtual School and is sent to individual settings on consultation with the school.

Schools should spend this premium on evidence-based approaches to support pupils. In line with the Education Endowment Foundation’s pupil premium guide, activities should include those that:

support the quality of teaching
provide targeted academic support
deal with non-academic barriers to success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support

For Nottinghamshire County Council Looked After Children, schools need to complete the ‘recovery premium’ box in the ‘targets and actions’ module of the Personal Education Plan in order to request recovery premium. As with Pupil Premium requests, schools will need to outline how they intend to spend the recovery premium and how they expect it to impact on our child’s attainment and progress. The recovery premium will be allocated per academic year rather than per term like Pupil Premium.

Allocations for 2023-2024

Mainstream education:

£145 per eligible pupil in primary schools
£276 per eligible pupil in secondary schools

Other eligible schools, and special education units in mainstream schools:

£290 per pupil in primary education
£552 per pupil in secondary education

Further information:

Recovery premium funding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

School Led Tutoring 2023-2024

School-led tutoring (SLT) grant is part of the tuition offer from the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) and it is intended to help close the education gap which widened as a result of COVID-19. Similar to Pupil Premium and Recovery Premium, the School Led Tutoring grant for looked after children is paid to Virtual Schools. Schools can source their own tutoring provision to support disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils to catch up on their learning using either internal school staff or external tutoring provision.

For Nottinghamshire County Council Looked After Children, schools need to complete the ‘school led tutoring’ box in the ‘targets and actions’ module of the Personal Education Plan in order to request school led tutoring. Schools will need to indicate the number of planned sessions and the area/subject the pupil will access tutoring in, this should be linked to their individual progress and attainment targets. Requests are approved by Assistant Head of Virtual School and sent to schools accordingly.

Allocations 2023-2024

For more detail about allocations and appropriate use of the grant visit: National Tutoring Programme (NTP) grant funding: conditions of grant for 2023 to 2024 academic year - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Further information:

Resources

In line with statutory legislation, Nottinghamshire’s Virtual School produces a Pupil Premium Statement which outlines expectations of partners, the Nottinghamshire systems and processes and useful links to key documents.