Deprivation and the Pupil Premium - what you need to know. After prior attainment, poverty is the strongest predictor of a child’s future life-chances

Deprivation Why focus on pupils from poorer backgrounds? Poverty is the strongest predictor of a child’s future life-chances. In terms of attainment the facts speak for themselves; The highest early achievers from poorer backgrounds are overtaken by lower achieving children from advantaged backgrounds by age seven, by the end of Key Stage 1 the odds of a pupil eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) achieving level 2 in reading, writing and maths are one third those of a non-FSM pupil. The gap widens further during secondary education and persists into Higher Education. The odds of an FSM pupil achieving five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics are less than one third those of a non FSM pupil. A pupil from a non-deprived background is more than twice as likely to go on to study at university as their deprived peers. Attainment gaps have proved to be persistent and slow at narrowing despite investment.

KS2 and KS4 percentage point attainment gap – gaps have reduced but at a very slow rate. The attainment gap

KS2 FSM gaps have narrowed in all subjects 4

KS4 - FSM gaps have narrowed for both indicators, albeit very slowly for 5+A*-C inc. English and maths 3

New from the Performance Table: Narrowing the gaps at KS2 Within the Performance tables the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, those eligible for free school meal or looked after by the Local Authority, has been compared to the other pupils. 17 per cent of pupils have been identified as disadvantaged. As expected, disadvantaged pupils do less well across the measures than the other pupils. Maintained schools only

2011 New from the Performance Table: Narrowing the gaps at KS4 Within the Performance tables the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, those known to be eligible for free school meal or looked after by the Local Authority, has been compared to the other pupils per cent of pupils have been identified as disadvantaged. As expected, disadvantaged pupils do less well across the measures than the other pupils. Maintained schools only Disadvant aged pupils Other pupils All Pupils Achieving grades A*-C in both English and mathematics GCSEs 34.4%62.9%58.7% Achieving 5+ grades A*-C inc. English and mathematics GCSEs 33.9%62.3%58.2% Achieving expected progress between Key Stage 2 and GCSE English 54.3%74.8%71.8% Achieving expected progress between Key Stage 2 and GCSE Maths 44.2%68.3%64.8% English Baccalaureate4.1%17.3%15.4%

FSM pupils in schools with highest proportion of deprived pupils now outperform those in schools with low numbers of deprived pupils and the gap between them and their peers is much smaller Maintained mainstream schools excluding grammar schools Amended data

Why focus on pupils from poorer backgrounds? The Government has made it clear that this is a morally and socially unacceptable position and it has made narrowing attainment gaps between rich and poor its’ top priority. Social Mobility Narrowing the gaps is therefore a key component of the Government’s Social Mobility strategy along with raising standards in all schools and raising aspirations for all children.

Social Mobility The Social Mobility strategy was launched in April It aims to tackle unfairness at every stage of life with specific measures to improve social mobility from the foundation years to school and adulthood. Key policies to achieve social mobility include; the Pupil Premium; raising the status and quality of teaching; the introduction of the English Baccalaureate; academies and free schools; all underpinned by parental engagement and good start in the Early Years.

Pupil Premium from  The Government intends to consult on the future distribution of the Pupil Premium by June  The aim will be to extend the coverage of the Premium from to pupils who have previously been known to be eligible for Free School Meals.  Another important objective of the Coalition Government is to reform the underlying funding system to ensure that, over time, deprived children in lower funded areas receive the same level of support as other deprived children.

Use of the Premium  The Pupil Premium is not ring-fenced.  For most pupils, the Pupil Premium will be allocated directly to schools and will be clearly identifiable. It will be for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.  For some looked after children that are not in mainstream provision the local authority will use the Premium to support them in line with each child’s personal education plan.  It will be for schools to decide how the Premium is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.  The Government intends to make available to schools the evidence we have about interventions that can improve the progress and attainment of pupils from low income backgrounds.

Schools will be asked to report to parents annually from September 2012 about how they have used the Pupil Premium. Accountability and transparency It is important that there is transparency about how the Pupil Premium has been used to improve the achievement of pupils from poorer backgrounds. New measures in this year’s performance tables that will capture the achievement of those deprived pupils covered by the Pupil Premium. Together, these will ensure that parents and others are made fully aware of the attainment of pupils covered by the Premium and that it is spent on improving the life chances of the poorest children.