Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium funding is additional funding provided by the government to schools to support eligible children and their families.
Its aim is to raise attainment in these pupils.
Schools received £1,480 per primary aged pupil in 2024-25

The grant may be spent in the following ways:

for the purposes of the school; that is, for the educational benefit of pupils registered at that school
for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools or academies
on community services whose provision furthers the benefit of pupils at the school

Who is eligible?

Children are eligible if they have registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years.
The introduction of free school meals for all reception and KS1 children may mean that it is more difficult to identify those children who are still eligible for pupil premium. London Borough of Merton has launched an initiative to collect information on all families at the school, so that they are able to identify eligible families themselves, including those whose circumstances may change over time.

Why should I apply?

Your child will have access to a range of benefits: free after school clubs, free school trips, support in academic learning and free school meals, and in 2024-2025 access to a computer/Chromebook for home use for KS2 pupils (if required). We can also support families with access to the internet.
Application, eligibility and benefits for Pupil Premium are handled discreetly, confidentially and flexibly. For example: if you choose not to access Free School Meals, you may still wish your child to receive other benefits.
Each child eligible for Pupil Premium enables access to £1,480 per year for six years following the successful application. With this additional funding comes additional expectations and accountability. We are rigorous in tracking the impact of this funding on our Pupil Premium children to ensure excellent outcomes.

How can I apply?

London Borough of Merton is encouraging all families to register for the Pupil Premium scheme, even if they do not currently meet the eligibility criteria. Please see the Merton webpage for further information.
Apply online here...
If you are unable to complete an online form, please see The School Office and we will provide you with a paper form.
London Borough of Merton will check your eligibility via the Department for Education's website. The website will only show whether or not you are eligible for the scheme - it does not give Merton any other information about you or your child.
If you are eligible, following this application, please contact Rebecca Byrne rebeccabyrne@bishopgilpin.org, to discuss the support available for your child.

How does Bishop Gilpin use Pupil Premium funding?

Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across 3 areas, with a particular focus on teaching.

1. Teaching

Investing in high-quality teaching, for example:

training and professional development for teachers
recruitment and retention
support for teachers early in their careers

2. Targeted academic support

Additional support for some pupils focussed on their specific needs, for example:

one-to-one tuition
small group tuition
speech and language therapy

3. Wider approaches

Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges. For example:

school breakfast clubs
counselling to support emotional health and wellbeing
help with the cost of educational trips or visits

Our key objective in spending Pupil Premium funding is to support the academic achievement of those eligible children, and to close the attainment gap between these children and their peers. Nationally, there is a trend that children who are eligible for Pupil Premium tend to have lower levels of attainment. Our general approach is therefore to enhance our children’s learning and to assist financially when required.

We provide frequent, targeted support to Pupil Premium children who are not meeting age related expectations in English and Maths, and to those who have below average grades on joining the school. Those Pupil Premium children who are on track or are exceeding expectations are given support to ensure that they continue or improve on this trajectory.

We also run many day trips and two residential trips. Pupil Premium funding is used to remove the financial burden on eligible families.

We use the principles above to inform our budget setting when we consider how to spend pupil premium in any financial year - in particular, we will review the success of any strategies used in the past and look to build on that, in line with respected evidence-based approaches.

Pupil Premium Strategy 2023/24

Pupil Premium Strategy 2022/23

Pupil Premium Strategy 2021/22

Pupil Premium Strategy 2020/21

Pupil Premium Strategy 2019/20