Education written question – answered at on 12 June 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons the pupil premium is awarded on the basis of numbers receiving free school meals; and for what reasons other measures of deprivation are not taken into account when awarding the pupil premium.
holding answer
Known eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is the only pupil level measure of poverty available. This allows us to identify individual pupils and enable schools to target funding and support directly to them. Data on FSM eligibility is also collected and updated annually meaning that it reflects current need. The link between FSM eligibility and underachievement is very strong. In 2010/11 results showed that only 58% of FSM pupils at key stage 2 achieved the expected level in both English and mathematics compared to 78% of all other pupils. At key stage 4 results showed that only 34.6% of FSM pupils achieved 5 A*-C including English and maths compared with 62% of all other pupils. It is for these reasons that we use FSM eligibility as the main pupil premium indicator.
Eligibility for the pupil premium has been extended this year to include pupils who have previously been eligible for FSM at any point in the past six years. Evidence shows that these pupils also under achieve when compared to pupils who have never been eligible for FSM.
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