The current pupil premium formula is “far too clunky” and should be “refocused” so it is more “heavily weighted” towards the most disadvantaged children, the chair of the Commons Education Select Committee has said.
The government must also “clarify” whether some pupils will be “knocked off” the list for funding this year, following a change to the way it is allocated, according to Robert Halfon, Conservative MP for Harlow.
Tes reported earlier this week that local authorities across London had collectively written to the education secretary demanding a reversal of the change - which saw the census date on which the funding is calculated shifted back from January 2021 to October 2020.
The five London boroughs - Barking and Dagenham, Merton, Hounslow, Lewisham and Ealing - estimated a shortfall of more than £3.5 million in total.
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Meanwhile, the city of Liverpool said it had lost out on £1.5 million and Brighton and Hove council last month said it would see a £400,000 hole, according to the Financial Times, which also reported that the Harris Federation academy chain said 528 additional pupils had become eligible for pupil premium funding between October and January, equating to a shortfall of £565,000 in funding.
Announced quietly before Christmas, the policy shift means that the government will calculate the number of children attracting pupil premium funding from April based on a census from last October, and not in January, as schools had been expecting.
Pupil premium ‘needs long-term reform’
This means children who became eligible for free school meals between October and January will not attract pupil premium money in school budgets allocated from April this year.
Appearing on Radio 4‘s Today programme this morning, Mr Halfon was asked about the government’s decision to change the census date. He defended the government’s record on the funding, citing its commitment to raise the premium over the coming year, but said it needed to “clarify” whether some disadvantaged pupils will be “knocked off” the list as a result of the change.
He went on to say the way the premium is allocated should be “refocused” to target the most disadvantaged pupils.
Asked what he made of the change to this year’s calculation, Mr Halfon said: “Well, absolutely the government need to clarify whether or not disadvantaged children are in effect going to be knocked off funding in terms of this proposed change that has been set out...
“But to be fair to the education department, the spending on the pupil premium is going to rise to £2.5 billion over the coming year, and there is an additional £300-odd million recovery premium that’s on top of the pupil premium.”
He added: “There needs to be long-term reform of the the pupil premium. The current formula is far too clunky because schools get funding for any pupil who has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.
“So, in my view, the pupil premium should be refocused. It’s much more heavily weighted towards the long-term disadvantaged.”
The change to the way pupil premium money is allocated was described as “scandalous” and “sickening” by teachers and heads when they became aware of it earlier this year.
The Department for Education has been approached for comment.
