Introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.

Publicly-funded schools in England get extra funding from the government to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:

• generally face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
• often do not perform as well as their peers.

The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve. It is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates.