All children who have been adopted or placed under special guardianship are now eligible for the Pupil Premium worth £1,900.

In order for schools to receive this funding, children need to be recorded as eligible by Thursday 2 October 2014.

If your child is eligible could you please contact our Home School Link Worker Mandy Gilholm to let us know on 01670 515415. Please be assured that this information will be held in the strictest confidence.

Further Information

What is the Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools in England to tackle disadvantage and close the attainment gap between eligible pupils and their peers.

What are the eligibility criteria?

From academic year 2014/15, state maintained schools (funded by the local education authority) and non-maintained special schools (not funded by the local education authority) will attract the Pupil Premium for children:

• that were adopted from care in England (including those adopted before December 2005);

• that left care under a Special Guardianship Order (under the Children Act 1989);

• that left care under a Residential Order (under the Children Act 1989);

• are in Reception to Year 11;

Why are children adopted from care and those who leave care under a Special Guardianship or Residential Order eligible for Pupil Premium?

All adopted children have experienced loss and many experienced trauma in their early lives. 70 per cent of those adopted in 2009-10 entered care due to abuse or neglect. Adoption offers bright futures for children from care, but it does not erase their past.

80 per cent of adopters in our research said their child needs more support than their peers and nearly two thirds of parents (59 per cent) said their child is always trying to catch up in school and make up for their early life experiences.

Adopted children’s early experiences can have a lasting impact, particularly at school. Therefore teachers and schools have a vital role to play in helping these children emotionally, socially and educationally by providing specific support to raise their attainment and address their wider needs.

How will children adopted from care and post-LAC access the pupil premium?

Funding is paid directly to schools for schools to use. Parents and guardians need to self-declare their child’s status to the school where their child is on roll.

Parents and guardians are required to provide evidence to the school, for example their Adoption Order or a letter from the local authority that originally looked after the child.

The school will use this evidence to record the child’s status on the school census. Once schools have declared a child’s eligibility on the school census, they can access Pupil Premium funding.

When is the self-declaration deadline?

In order for schools to receive funding children need to be recorded as eligible on the school census.

The next school census deadline is Thursday 2 October 2014

Schools will not necessarily be aware that they have adopted children and post-LAC on roll. We therefore encourage parents and guardians to present their child’s information, rather than rely on the school to approach them.

How much funding will each school receive?

The next school census deadline is 2 October 2014

The Pupil Premium is £1,900 per eligible child, per year.

How is funding paid?

Funding is paid directly to schools

Is the funding ring-fenced for each child?

No. Funding is not ring-fenced and schools can pool Pupil Premium money for numerous children to pay for collective support to gain maximum impact from the funding.

The Pupil Premium is additional money for schools to improve the educational and personal outcomes of disadvantaged pupils including those who have been adopted from care. It is not intended that the additional funding should be used to back-fill the general school budget nor that the funding should be used to support other groups of pupils.

Schools are inspected by Ofsted on their effective use of Pupil Premium funding.