Schools receive Pupil Premium funding to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap with their peers.

Pupil premium funding is allocated to eligible schools based on the number of:

• pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM), or have been recorded as eligible in the past 6 years (referred to as Ever 6 FSM)

• children previously looked after (PLAC) by a local authority or other state care, including children adopted from state care or equivalent from outside England and Wales

Pupil Premium funding is allocated to local authorities based on the number of:

• looked-after children (LAC), supported by the local authority
• For pupils who are looked-after children, funding is managed by the local authority’s virtual school head (VSH) in consultation with the child’s school.

Schools must use their Pupil Premium grant to accelerate disadvantaged pupils’ progress, in order to raise their attainment. This will contribute to closing the national attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

At Goldington, we use our pupil premium funding to address the specific challenges that our disadvantaged pupils face: through high-quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies to help pupils to attend, belong and succeed.

It is therefore of great importance to the school that families who meet the criteria listed below register for free school meals with the local authority, even if their child(ren) prefer packed lunches.

Your child may be eligible for free school meals if pupils/families receive one of more of the benefits listed below: 

The child must attend a school in Bedford Borough, although they may not live in the borough.

• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earning from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

For further information regarding the application process and auto-enrolment for free school meals, please see Free school meals auto-enrolment | Bedford Borough Council.

Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

The academy is required to publish details of the Pupil Premium Grant it receives and how it is intended to be spent. By the December of each academic year, the Strategy Statement is reported on in terms of how the funding was used to support disadvantaged pupils and the impact this spending had on attainment. Please click below to see our latest Pupil Premium Strategy Statement.

Pupil Premium Strategy

Pupil Premium Policy