The Pupil Premium for Looked After Children – a Quick Guide
The pupil premium is provided to those on free school meals,
children of military families and children in care in order to close
the gap in attainment, particularly in English and mathematics,
between these groups and all children.
Principles



Looked After Children are our children as a corporate parent, they live
with us and learn with us
Oxfordshire’s looked after children should attend, engage and achieve
at least as well as those of other local authorities. We are committed to
working together in successful corporate parenthood to raise their
achievement to that of their peers who are not in care.
Schools are key members of the corporate parent body. They lead on
planning resources to target interventions for this underperforming
group
The pupil premium provides significant additional funding: a school of 400 children
with 40 pupils on either free school meals or in care receive £144,000 and one with
900 benefits by £729,000. The average proportion of children on free school meals is
16%. The average number of children in care in an Oxfordshire secondary school
varies but is currently about 4. The majority of primary schools have no children in
care, a handful have up to 5.
How




does the Pupil Premium for Looked After Children work?
£900 per year for children continuously in care for more than 6 months
Paid in three tranches January, April and September
Schools decide how to spend it
Schools are required to report how all pupil premium income is spent on the
school website and provide information during inspection. There is a model
form for this on the ASCL website and the School Intranet. ‘Through highly
effective, rigorous planning and controls, governors ensure financial stability,
including the effective and efficient management of financial resources such
as the pupil premium funding. This leads to the excellent deployment of
staff and resources to the benefit of all groups of pupils.’ Ofsted Inspection
handbook
 Oxfordshire maintained mainstream schools and maintained special schools
receive the funding directly from Oxfordshire County Council via SAP
 Maintained mainstream and special schools in other local authorities who
educate Oxfordshire’s corporate children receive the funding from the Virtual
School for Looked After Children
 Independent special schools and alternative providers in receipt of a fee from
Oxfordshire County Council do not have a pupil premium transfer. Children
are in these fee-paying schools because of the specialist education they
provide. However, if a child has a need identified in the Personal Education

Plan (PEP) targets and appropriate support may occur costs outside the remit
of the contract, the provider should contact the Virtual Head with an additional
funding request.
Any underspend in the pupil premium is dedicated to effective monitoring and
support for pupils with SEN educated by non-maintained providers and
intensive support for those coming into care at a high threshold of need and
not yet in receipt of the pupil premium.
Do schools receive the free school meals pupil premium for children in care as
well as the premium resulting from continuous care status for 6 months?
 Children in foster care are not eligible. However, if the child was eligible for
free school meals when they came into care the school will have already
qualified for additional funding.
What examples of good practice are there for managing the pupil premium
successfully?
 The pupil premium and its use is always discussed at the Personal Education
Plan (PEP) meeting which must take place within 20 days of arriving in a new
school, and thereafter within six months. This discussion is closely linked to
progress towards the targets agreed in the PEP.
 The designated teacher for looked after children ensures, whilst writing up or
quality assuring the statutory PEP document, that use of the pupil premium is
matched to PEP targets. These must include a target for English and/or
mathematics
 Primary schools tend to treat the pupil premium as a ‘trust’ fund for the child
and ensure all of it is spent on the individual
 Secondary schools sometimes use the pupil premium towards a range of
provisions that service more than one child, for example a specialist LAC
teaching assistant or learning mentor. The PEP document must demonstrate
that the child is accessing this provision
 Some secondary schools maintain the ‘trust fund’ approach of primary
schools
What examples are there of spending the pupil premium in a way which really
impacts on engagement and achievement?
 One-to-one tuition, especially in English and Maths. National evidence
demonstrates that this is a highly effective intervention for looked after
children of all ages
 Computer software such as Clicker6, Acceleread, Accelerwrite, Mathswatch
 A laptop with safeguarding training for carer and social worker
 Access to school trips which will positively impact on engagement and
learning
 Extended opportunities such as martial arts, individual music tuition not
available through the county music service, performing arts courses
 Specialist teaching assistant time
 Small group teaching. National evidence suggests this is often as effective as
one-to-one
 Behaviour support services
 For research on effective interventions look at Education Endowment Fund
(EEF) pupil premium calculator. www.suttontrust.com/educationendowmentfoundation
What other resources are available to support raising the achievement of
looked after children?
 Where a child has had a mid-year change of school, the local In Year Fair
Access Panel (IYFAP) can be approached for ‘hard to hold’ funding to support
engagement with learning
 All but the smallest Oxfordshire schools have a devolved SEN budget which
should be used to support children on the SEN register, in line with Provision
Map/Individual Education Plan priorities which should be reflected in the
targets in the PEP
 Some funding for one-to-one tuition is devolved to schools through the Age
Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU)
 The ‘year 7 catch up premium’ is devolved to all schools by the LA for pupils
arriving in secondary school not attaining at national expectation
How are schools accountable for the pupil premium?
 Ofsted inspections report on the impact of the pupil premium in the sections
on Achievement and on Leadership and Management as set out in the
Section 5 Inspection handbook. From February 2012, there is new guidance
on how the impact will be measured in Subsidiary guidance: supporting the
inspection of maintained schools and academies. Schools will want to note, in
particular, paragraphs 99-106 which provide a ready reckoner for progress:
‘Inspectors must evaluate the performance in English and in mathematics of
groups of pupils who are supported through the pupil premium. Where a gap
is identified between the performance of these pupils and all others in the
school, inspectors must report this and whether it is narrowing. They should
express gaps in terms of National Curriculum levels or a period of time (such
as ‘two terms’) at the end of Key Stage 2, or GCSE grades at the end of Key
Stage 4’. Both documents are available on the Ofsted website.
 Designated teachers are required to provide a report on the progress of and
provision for looked after children at least once annually (The role and
responsibilities of the designated teacher for looked after children: statutory
guidance for school governing bodies). This report should include an account
of what the pupil premium is being used for and the impact on progress,
particularly in English and mathematics. This ensures governors are fully
aware of the impact of the pupil premium for this group.
Further information
The Virtual School for Looked After Children and Care Leavers, 0-25 01865 256640
Administration and bursar enquiries: lee.simpson@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Secondary pupils: lucy.wawrzyniak@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Primary pupils: susan.mullin@oxfordshire.gov.uk
VM September 2013