Pupil Premium

WHAT IS THE PUPIL PREMIUM?

The Pupil Premium is additional funding to help schools close the attainment gap between children from low-income and other disadvantaged families and their peers.

If a child has been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point over the past 6 years or has been looked after for one day or more (Child Looked After), the school receives an amount per head within their budget. Our funding formula is aimed at the whole child.

The Department for Education classifies a pupil as ‘disadvantaged’ if they meet any one of the following criteria:

Pupils in any year group from reception to year 11 that have been entitled to free school meals at any point in the last six years
Looked-after children as defined in the Children Act 1989
Children who have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order
Children in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence
National and in-school data shows that, as a group, pupils eligible for the pupil premium face barriers to educational attainment. Common barriers to underachievement include poor numeracy and/or literacy skills, below average attendance and low aspirations or emotional wellbeing.
However, we recognise that every child is an individual and so we do not label students. Instead, we seek to tackle underperformance wherever and whenever it occurs by working to understand students’ individual barriers to learning and then addressing these in lesson where possible.

The Pupil Premium Grant is allocated to schools annually. It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium will be spent since schools are considered best placed to access what provision should be made for the pupils that they are responsible for. However, schools must report annually on how it has been spent and on its impact. New performance tables also capture the achievement of disadvantaged pupils covered by the Pupil Premium.

OUR VISION

Our school vision is to provide an exceptional education for all students, whether disadvantaged or not. We have a moral imperative to ensure that all students have the best possible start in life and so seek to provide all students with equal opportunities to achieve their full potential personally, academically and socially. This vision outlines our reasoning behind the Pupil Premium spending.

HOW TO APPLY FOR FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Free School Meal Criterion:

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending these schools will be entitled to receive a free meal.

The Department for Education have made this a legal requirement through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and intend to lay additional regulations extending this duty to maintained nursery schools.

Going forward, there will be 2 categories of benefits-based free school meals:

Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing threshold, covering pupils who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less
Expanded FSM, a new category covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit

Ever 6 FSM Cohort:

Pupils who are, or have been, eligible for FSM over the last 6 years are part of the ‘Ever 6’ FSM cohort. This is used for disadvantage funding and accountability purposes. Following the expansion of FSM, Ever 6 FSM will be based on targeted FSM.

If you are a parent or carer and receive any of the benefits below, then your child is eligible for Free School Meals.

Rechecking Eligibility:

Going forward FSM eligibility should be monitored by schools and local authorities on an ongoing basis, through annual rechecks.

Rechecks should confirm that pupils in receipt of FSM continue to meet the eligibility criteria set out in this guidance, and the category of eligibility they fall under (either targeted or expanded).

Who is eligible for benefits based free school meals?

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, we are expanding FSM eligibility to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit regardless of household earnings. Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

Universal Credit
support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

A pupil is only eligible to receive a free school meal where both:

a claim for this support has been made
their eligibility has been verified by the school where they are enrolled or by the local authority

Households may also be entitled to a meal if they:

are in receipt of income-related Employment and Support Allowance
receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit
meet criteria set out in separate guidance for families with no recourse to public funds

Targeted FSM

Children from households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less (the existing threshold for FSM prior to the expansion), will be eligible for targeted FSM. In addition to receiving free meals, pupils eligible for targeted FSM will attract pupil premium and other disadvantage funding for their schools.

Pupil premium and other disadvantage funding is currently allocated in respect of pupils who are recorded in school census returns as eligible for FSM, or have been recorded as eligible for FSM in the past 6 years (referred to as Ever 6 FSM). From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, Ever 6 FSM will be based on targeted FSM. This cohort is also used for accountability purposes.

Other education entitlements that have previously been linked to eligibility for FSM, such as the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) and the ‘extended rights’ element of school travel assistance, will also continue to be based on targeted FSM.

Households qualifying for free meals because they are in receipt of support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 will also be eligible for targeted FSM.

Households in receipt of Income-related Employment and Support Allowance or the guarantee element of Pension Credit or households with families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) may also be eligible for targeted FSM.

Expanded FSM

Children from households in receipt of Universal Credit, with annual household earnings exceeding £7,400 will be entitled to expanded FSM (meals only).

Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will continue to be entitled to free meals, regardless of the earnings or benefit status of their households. This support is made available under the Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) programme.

Families with children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 should still be encouraged to apply for benefits-based FSM. If they are eligible for targeted FSM, they could attract additional funding for their schools.

Free School Meal Application

Please apply online here at Online Free School Meals. Once you have applied you do not need to apply again unless your child changes schools*.

If your application for Free School Meals is successful, Haberdashers' Hatcham Primary will also receive extra funding from the Government to use in support of teaching and learning (Pupil Premium).

OFSM - Hatcham Primary Parents Flyer

OFSM Parent Carer User Guide