Pupil Premium - funding that is pooled at the school, not ringfenced to your specific child.
What is it and what are the benefits
Pupil Premium (PP) is money allocated by the government for schools to spend to close the gap in educational success and achievement which currently exists both nationally and locally between ‘disadvantaged’ pupils and their peers.
From the start of the 2026-27 academic year, free school meal eligibility in England expanded under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.
The result is a two-tier system, and the distinction matters for pupil premium.
Targeted FSM keeps the existing £7,400 Universal Credit earned-income threshold. This is the cohort that continues to attract pupil premium funding and the Ever 6 protection.
Expanded FSM extends a free school meal to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, with no earnings limit.
This brings in a much larger group of children, but Expanded FSM does not attract pupil premium funding, and these pupils do not qualify for the Ever 6 protection.
| Funding criteria | Amount of funding for each primary-aged pupil per year | Funding is paid to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years | £1,550 | School | |
| Pupils previously looked after by a local authority or other state care | £2,690 | School | |
| Children who are looked after by the local authority | £2,690 | Local authority |
Does my child qualify?
Your child qualifies if your household receives any of the following. The Universal Credit threshold is the most common route.
- Universal Credit, with household earned income (after tax) below £7,400 per year
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (without Working Tax Credit) with annual income below £16,190
- Working Tax Credit run-on (the 4-week payment after stopping qualifying work)
Service pupil premium
Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools with children and young people of service families.
Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract the service pupil premium grant at the rate of £360 per eligible pupil in the 2026 to 2027 financial year.
How to apply
Apply for free school meals through your local authority's website. The application takes about 10 minutes and checks against benefits data in real time, so many parents get a decision the same day. The school is then notified automatically.
If your circumstances change (a redundancy, a switch from Working Tax Credit to Universal Credit, a separation), reapply. The Ever 6 protection means a child who was eligible at any point in the past six years still attracts pupil premium funding, but the protection only starts from the date you first register.
For looked-after and previously looked-after children, the local authority manages the funding directly through the virtual school head; adoptive parents need to let the school know their child was previously in care so the higher rate can be claimed.
Pupil Premium Explained: PARENTS GUIDE
