The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England. It’s designed to help disadvantaged pupils of all abilities perform better, and close the gap between them and their peers.

It was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. Looked after children and those of service personnel also attract funding. Details for eligibility for free school meals in Bradford can be found by following this link.

School Context

St Mary's & St Peter's Catholic Primary School is a small one form entry school with 217 pupils (Autumn 2020 Census). We serve an area of significant deprivation - 97% of the school cohort live in the 30% most deprived areas of England. Our pupils come from a wide range of ethnic minority backgrounds (20 ethnic groups and 27 spoken languages - Autumn 2020 Census). We have an increasing number of pupils from Eastern European countries arriving in school with little or no English and no previous schooling. There is a significant language barrier in school with 70% of the school cohort speaking English as an additional language and a large number of pupils enter school with delayed language and reading skills. Currently, the percentage of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium funding is 32%.