Pupil premium grant

[MARTYN PENDERGAST]

Very useful postings on the use of the PPG!

It is worth acknowledging that schools are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to using PPG to fund what we used to call EMAG. The accountability framework via Ofsted makes it absolutely clear that the funding has to be spent on the targeted group of pupils, hence the 'deception' that Nicola refers to; it is understandable that schools wish to protect themselves from criticism.

In addition, the DfE requirement is to publish not only the allocation of funding, but also the impact of the previous year's funding, so it is important that spending on EAL specialist staff, for example, is related to accelerated progress amongst pupils receiving free school meals. A good example of reporting that meets the requirements can be found at: 

www.sns.hackney.sch.uk/how-we-spend-our-pupil-premium-grant/

You can also find out the illustrative allocation for your school (based on last year's pupil numbers) at: 

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/a00218077/funding-settlement-2013-14

then click on the link: Pupil Premium 2013-14 School Tables - illustrative allocations

and when the Excel spreadsheet opens, click on the 'Families' tab.

Martyn