Funding
Pupil Premium Plus
Eligibility
Every child adopted from care or with a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) or care arrangements order attracts a grant , known as pupil premium plus of £2,530 per annum as long as they have been in care for at least 24 hours. Since 2023, pupil premium plus is also now available to children adopted from overseas. This funding is paid directly by the government to your child’s school. The school is required to use the funding to promote educational achievement and emotional and social welfare by providing specific, targeted support. Children and young people are eligible for this grant between reception and Year 11.
In order for the school to receive this grant, each eligible child must be recorded on the annual autumn school census.
Parents will be expected to provide documentation to prove their status, but this may be redacted to hide confidential details about birth names and families.
The statutory guidance on the roles and responsibilities of designated teachers suggests that where parents are unable to provide clear evidence of their child’s status, schools will need to use their discretion.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium
To receive the pupil premium plus grant, a child or young person must be registered on the autumn census and money should be received by the school in April. Because there is only one opportunity to register each year, if you choose to inform your child’s school of their adoptive status, this needs to be done in the summer term or as early as possible in the autumn term.
Spending Pupil Premium Plus funding
'Both Virtual School Heads and schools manage their PP+ allocation for the benefit of their cohort of looked after or previously looked after children and according to children’s needs. It is not a personal budget for individual children; however, both VSHs and schools may choose to allocate an amount of funding to an individual to support their needs.'
From: Promoting the Education of Looked after Children 2018 (DfE)
While virtual school head teachers manage Pupil Premium Plus funding for the cohort of children looked-after, schools are responsible for the allocation of this budget to benefit all children previously looked-after. As a parent, you may wish to discuss how this funding is being used. Examples of best practice include funding an emotional literacy support assistant in the school or a pupil premium champion and subsidising or paying for school trips, holiday or after school club attendance.
Early years funding
Children aged 2 years old who have been adopted from care are entitled to a free early education place. They can also benefit from the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) when they are aged 3 and 4. This contributes additional funding to early education placements to help your child’s nursery or childminder to help improve the education they provide for children who need more support. You will need to tell the education provider that your child is adopted in order for them to claim the EYPP.
https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds