The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers.
Pupil premium funding is available to:
- schools maintained by the local authority, including:
- special schools, for children with special educational needs or disabilities
- pupil referral units (PRUs), for children who can’t go to a mainstream school
- academies and free schools, including:
- special academies, for children with special educational needs or disabilities
- alternative provision (AP) academies, for children who can’t go to 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
Current funding
Schools in England receive £2,690 per year in Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) funding for each eligible Previously Looked After Child (PLAC) for the 2026 to 2027 financial/academic year.
In order to claim PPG, the status of the child must be registered on the school census. The DfE will then award the funds directly to the school.
Slough Virtual School offers support and advice for the local authority in respect of education for these children.
Schools will receive funding for any pupil:
- identified in the latest school census or the alternative provision census as having left local-authority care as a result of one of the following:
- adoption
- a special guardianship order
- a child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order)
- who has been in local-authority care for 1 day or more
- recorded as both eligible for FSM in the last 6 years and as being looked after (or as having left local-authority care)
For more details, visit the gov.uk website’s Pupil Premium page
