Pupil premium ‘used to plug gaps in budget’

More than four-fifths of heads say the money has either equalled or not made up for financial losses elsewhere, according to a survey carried out by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).

Many also remain unconvinced that the premium will be beneficial to their poorest pupils, with just over a third saying they do not think it will make a difference to a student’s achievement.

The pupil premium, a key initiative for the coalition Government, is extra funding attached to disadvantaged children, following them as they move schools. It is given to schools for pupils who are eligible for free school meals – a measure of poverty – with the aim of closing the achievement gap between richer and poorer youngsters.

The money comes on top of the schools budget, and stands at £600 per pupil for 2012/13, up from £488 last year.

The NAHT’s survey, which questioned more than 2,000 heads, found that a third said the premium had equalled losses elsewhere in their budget, while more than half – 53.3 per cent – said it had not made up for losses elsewhere.

Just 14.3 per cent of those questioned said the premium had exceeded losses elsewhere in their budget.

Stephen Twigg, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary said the figures proved that the pupil premium was “merely a fig leaf for the biggest cuts to education funding since the 1950s.