Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endowment Foundation, has expressed concern after a survey of teachers found a small but growing proportion of schools are using their funding for disadvantaged pupils to offset budget cuts elsewhere.
Of the 1,607 teachers polled, 6% said that the biggest priority for Pupil Premium spending in their schools is to offset budget cuts, a rise from just 2% the previous year.
A boost for disadvantaged pupils
In 2011 the coalition government introduced the Pupil Premium grant to help improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. Schools receive additional funding for each pupil eligible for free school meals in the last six years, or for each pupil who has left local-authority care.
To determine how schools are spending their Pupil Premium funding, the Sutton Trust commissions annual polling through the National Foundation for Educational Research’s Teacher Voice Omnibus.
Their latest survey shows that the money is used on a range of initiatives including:
- Smaller classes
- More teachers or teaching assistants
- One-to-one tuition
- Early intervention and mentoring
- A broader curriculum
Commenting on the findings, Sir Peter Lampl said: “It is worrying that a growing number of schools feel they have to use funding for disadvantaged pupils to offset budget cuts.
“The pupil premium is a key lever for raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and it’s vital that it continues to be focused on their education.”
School budgets under strain
National Association of Head Teachers’ General Secretary Russell Hobby said Ofsted inspections already include checks on how effectively schools use the grants.
“This gives school leaders guidance and parents the confidence that their children are being helped.
“The real question raised by the Sutton Trust report is the strain that school budgets are under.
“Chronic underfunding means that school budgets are at breaking point forcing some schools to make tough choices that really they shouldn’t have to,” said Mr Hobby.
Despite these findings, a Department for Education spokeswoman indicated that the government trusts schools to use the money appropriately and was “pleased this report shows the vast majority of school leaders feel they can target it to support their poorest pupils”.
You can learn more about the research and its key findings by visiting the Sutton Trust website:
http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/pupil-premium-polling-2016/
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