DfE Pupil Premium – further information published

On 17 December, the Government announced that the pupil premium rates will remain unchanged for the financial year 2021-22 and that, from 2021-22 onwards, pupil premium allocations for mainstream and special schools will be based on the October census. Pupil premium funding for the financial year starting on 1 April 2021 will therefore be based on the October 2020 census instead of the January census as would have previously been the case.

The DfE have published further information on this change on www.gov.uk under “allocation changes from 2021 to 2022”.

This administrative change brings pupil premium in line with how the rest of the core schools’ budget is calculated and going forward it will provide both schools and DfE with greater certainty around future funding levels earlier in the year.

Total pupil premium funding is expected to increase to more than £2.5 billion in 2021-22 as more children have become eligible for free school meals as a result of the impact of the pandemic.