Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) for looked after children
Looked-after children are one of the groups of pupils that attract PP+ funding. This is additional funding provided to help improve the attainment of looked-after children and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. Local authorities receive a PP+ grant allocation based on the number of children looked after for at least one day and aged 4 to 15 at 31 August, as recorded in the latest looked-after children data return. In St. Helens all children and young people receive £2000 (3 terms of £666.66) providing the PEP has been graded as good or outstanding following the St Helens Quality Assurance document. |  |
Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) is managed by the Virtual School Headteacher in the local authority that looks after the child. The Virtual School Headteacher works with schools to ensure that PP+ money is spent to the educational benefit of the eligible child and addresses their individual needs. PP+ is a grant awarded to schools to help them to provide additional support and interventions to enable children we look after to make progress by overcoming barriers that might prevent them from making good academic progress. The school must choose appropriate interventions and itemise, on the termly PEP, how the PP+ will benefit the child, with detailed costings. Allocation of the funding will be linked to clear PEP targets. |
What can the PEP money be used for?
All PP+ expenditure must be specific to the needs of the child and linked to aspirational targets to engage and raise attainment. This can include:
- 1:1 support or small group intervention. This should be focused on areas of weakness or gaps in learning with clear outcomes and its impact evaluated.
- covering part of the cost of an Educational Psychologist report.
- 1:1 intervention to re-engage a disaffected learner.
- short term 1:1 tutoring for a child on a bespoke timetable.
- extending school time e.g. after school support with homework.
- specialist software or equipment beyond that normally provided by the school.
- fees for national awards such as DofE.
- staff training to enhance understanding and how to support the children we look after.
What can the PEP money NOT be used for?
- School uniform including sports kit
- Standard textbooks or equipment
- School trips not linked to child's targets or aspirations.
- Playgroup or nursery fees.
- The cost of school lunches or packed lunch.
- School photographs.
- Transport to and from school or bus pass.
PP+ cannot be used to 'double fund' or replace funding which should have or has already been allocated to the school to support the child, eg:
- Fund services that should be provided via an EHC plan.
- SEN needs where the child is on School Support. This should be covered by the school's SEN budget.
- any expenditure which is not linked clearly to one of the PEP targets.
PP+ will NOT be paid if.....
- the interventions put in place do not require any funding.
- funding has not been requested.
- the school's own funding covers the cost of the interventions.
- the PEP for that term hasn't been completed.
- the PEP is deemed not to be of high quality, through the VS Quality Assurance process.
Use of PP+ for Extra-curricular activities
PP+ can be used to support in school extracurricular activities if these can contribute to the outcomes above. For example, this could be used to fund music tuition for a student if this contributes towards 'Wider achievement eg, in an area in which the child is gifted and talented'.
PP+ for previously looked after children (PLAC)
Children who have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales will have their entitlement to PP paid directly to the school. The school will work with the adoptive parents or carers to ensure the young person is recorded on the census return; PP funding will then be received through the normal school funding routes. There is no direct responsibility for the VSH to monitor the use of this PP and there is no expectation of a PEP. However, support and advice for PLAC is available and schools should contact the Virtual School if this is required.
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