Research School Network: DfE Pupil Premium Update July 2019 and the EEF’s Pupil Premium Guide Updates for School for the Effective Use and Evaluation on the Pupil Premium


DfE Pupil Premium Update July 2019 and the EEF’s Pupil Premium Guide

Updates for School for the Effective Use and Evaluation on the Pupil Premium

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The DfE has just published a new update for schools for the academic year 2019 – 2020 about how much pupil premium funding schools and non-mainstream schools receive, how they should spend it, and how they will be held to account.

Pupil Premium: Funding and Accountability for Schools
Updated 17.6.2019

Found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternative-provision-settings

The purpose the PP funding is clearly articulated: 

- Improve the academic outcomes of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities
– Close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils of all abilities across the country.

You can find further information about the pupil premium in Pupil Premium Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 174KB, 8 pages).
Using Pupil premium effectively


Effective Use of the Pupil Premium 

The publication makes some clear recommendations about how schools can make best use of the funding and many links are made to the EEF’s suite of resources to support school leaders. 

There is a growing body of evidence on how schools can best help disadvantaged pupils make progress. The needs of all pupils should be assessed and the grant used to make maximum impact in the school.’ 

In line with the evidence, the DfE make it clear that There is no expectation that schools should spend the grant only on eligible pupils, or on a per eligible pupil basis… When taking decisions on how to spend the grant we strongly encourage school leaders to consider evidence on what will have the most impact for their pupils.’
Some of the most effective spending will be on whole school strategies, including improving the quality of teaching, which have the potential to impact positively on all pupils.

The EEF’s Pupil Premium Guide

To assist school leaders in this process, since 2011 the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has been working with thousands of schools across the country to establish what works best in raising pupils’ attainment. There is now a growing body of evidence on how schools can best help disadvantaged pupils make progress. The EEF has published a pupil premium guide that explains what schools have found works best when spending the pupil premium to improve results.
Example: Evidence suggests that schools should consider using a tiered’ approach to their pupil premium that balances spend across:

- Supporting training and continuous development to improve quality of all teaching
- Targeting support for disadvantaged pupils through evidence-based interventions
- Supporting whole-school strategies to improve attendance, behavior and readiness to learn.

Other Sources of Evidence

The publication moves on to share a range of reports that schools may find helpful which include:
- the EEF teaching and learning toolkit that ranks interventions and approaches by effectiveness and value for money
- the EEF families of schools database to help teachers learn about good practice from similar schools
- EEF guidance reports on high-priority topics
- the National Foundation for Educational Research that has recommendations for school leaders on raising disadvantaged pupils’ attainment

Ofsted has published reports on effective pupil premium strategies including:
- how schools are spending the funding successfully
- an update on schools’ progress

Measuring the Effectiveness of your Approach

To measure the effectiveness of their pupil premium approach and spending, schools should assess the performance of your disadvantaged pupils compared with the national average for non-disadvantaged pupils.

You may also wish to compare their disadvantaged pupils’ attainment to that of pupils in schools that:
- Have similar cohorts
- Face similar challenges
FFT and School Comparison website can help with this as well as the EEF’s families of schools database offers a user-friendly resource for this.

With regards to data monitoring, please note this guideline: You are not required to compare or report within-school or within-class attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers. School leaders are free to determine how they monitor their school’s progress.’

Pupil Premium Reviews

The report invites schools to commission an independent review of their pupil premium strategy to identify ways to use the funding more effectively. This can be done through your local Teaching Schools as part of the School Improvement work.

Reporting and Accountability


The update states that schools are held accountable for the effectiveness of their pupil premium use:
- By publishing a pupil premium statement online
- Through inspections
- Through published performance tables

Pupil premium online statements:

Schools maintained by the local authority must publish their strategy for using the pupil premium on their website. You can find details of the specific information you need to publish in our guidance on what local-authority-maintained schools must publish online.

Most Academies and free schools are required to publish the same details. Their funding agreements will detail what they need to publish on their website. Guidance on effective practice for all academies and free schools is available.

A longer term strategy

Interestingly, the update shares that from September 2019 schools are encouraged to move away from full annual reviews that can be time-consuming and instead consider a multi-year strategy – such as one covering a 3 year period – for pupil premium use, with light touch annual reviews that will continue to form the school’s pupil premium statement. This will help school leaders to:
- Take a longer view of the support the grant will provide
- Align their plan with the wider school improvement strategy

This links strongly to our message at the Research School that the Pupil Premium approach should be fundamental to the School Development plan.

Doing this will give schools greater certainty when planning their:
- Expenditure
- Recruitment
- Teaching practice
- Staff development

The Teaching Schools Council has produced templates to help schools present their pupil premium strategy.

Ofsted Inspections

Ofsted’s school inspections report on the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils who attract the pupil premium. You can read the Ofsted inspection framework and handbook for more information.

The handbook clarifies that inspectors will not require:
- A school to provide any specific document relating to the pupil premium, other than its pupil premium strategy.
- Any further school-generated data on the pupil premium, including information related to spending on individual students or to within-class or within-school gaps.

For more information regarding this, please refer to the DfE Update: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternative-provision-settings

PP Guide

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