to be a littled peed off with school?

[InSummer]

Back story... Claimed free school dinners for DD to try. Didn't like them, but thought oh well the school will get this funding. Didn't know what pupil premium was but when I found out I thought well it's a govt thing, no harm done.

Even though DD was back on packed lunches within a week, the school cater for her as pupil premium on school trips. I've told them not to give her their packed lunch as well as mine, but they do. Slightly annoying considering she is healthy and solid but got told she was overweight by the foundation stage weighing thing. This only happens now and then so not too fussed.

Anyway, today DD comes home with a 'special' patronising book bag for the summer holidays with activities 'put together by parents as we know how the holidays can be hard.' Or words to that effect.

In DD's words she has it "because I'm on free dinners". Apparently if they do it they stand up in front of assembly and get a certificate. There is 4 out if 30 in DD's class who got one, so surely the other children will ask why? DD seemes to know why.

Am I over reacting if I take it back in? I just feel like the children have been singled out.

Don't knock Pupil Premium.
You say your child doesn't need it, but it means there is funding available for her for any of:

• subsidising cost of school trips for you (including residentials)
• maybe free music tuition
• extra help if she falls a bit behind
• extra help to push on to achieve even better
• emotional support if needed

My DD1 gets PP due to being adopted. We asked for and got some 1-1 sessions in one of her GCSE subjects where she was doing OK, but not well enough to continue to A level.

Yanbu, they shouldn't have singled the children out in front of all the other children. Horrible and Unnecessary. If they wanted to support you/dd over the summer then they could and should have been more discrete.

I'd be fuming, I think you should mention it to the school, is she meant to be grateful for the pack at the same time as being humiliated.

Unfortunately there seems to be a direct link between children on free school meals and achievement levels. Many underachieving children come from very deprived families. This doesn't mean they all are but it's a way of targeting those who need advice and help. Having said that, I work at a secondary school and we are very discreet... all pupils have a payment card that parents topup with money, those on fsm will have their card topped up automatically. I would want to find out from the school if it was true dc was singled out for being on fsm. That shouldn't happen. Kids can be cruel and whether parents are rich or poor seems to be a topic in junior schools.

I'm quite shocked that so many people are expressing annoyance at this funding. I don't think schools can win. I understand that some parents may want to avoid the 'label' that comes with FSM/pupil premium but it is ignorant to think that there isn't a genuine need for this money to be spent on some of the things described for so many families.

Also, OP, you have said you applied for this funding and now you are annoyed at the school that they have followed through with what the funding entails. Perhaps you should have looked into what you were applying for instead of being annoyed at the people who are just doing their job and adhering to the guidelines that they are set by the government.

Me too diamond.

The funding is here for a reason. Pupil premium is linked to deprivation and achievement. The money is spent on your child to help reduce the attainment gap.

I applied because they kept asking people to on newsletters, said even if you don't want the meals we still get the funding. Never heard of PP and at the time believed it to be just money for the meals.

I've just looked at my paper work, and all I ever had to do was fill out a form for my Council Free School Meals Service. No mention of ongoing PP or anything, just that the school meal vouchers will be sent directly to the school.

I know I seem ignorant but I have heard a few people say that they didn't know it put their children in some sort of 'list'. I don't disagree with the school getting the funding in theory, but I wish it could be anonymous and that teachers could use their duscretion over who needs help here and there.

My ds starts school in sept, the first thing I was given was an application form that we were asked to fill on immediately regardless of our incomes or whether we wanted fsm.

PP is meant to support children, making a child stand up in assembly to be given a pack because she is "needy"isn't going to increase her self esteem.

in terms of the packed lunches from school dd had one because we really are that lazy dh had already paid for school dinner. Another boy had one also and he deffo isn't on fsm either. methinks you are overthinking that one.

If she doesn't do the activities in the pack, she won't need to stand up in assembly, will she? Perhaps you should clarify matters with the school first before deciding your child has been singled out. If this is actually the case, your first suggestion should be that they approach this kind of thing with more sensitivity and discretion. It sounds a bit of a hit-and-miss scheme if it's as you describe.

No of pupils entitle to free school dinners is a statistic often looked at in a school make up. It is stated in basic info in OFSTED reports and if high mayeb referenced. This is because it is often an indicator of attainment.

Entitlement to free school meals is associate with lower incomes and in some areas is quite high and denotes the levels of social and economic deprivation. These latter things are hard to measure so FSM is used as an indicator. These social and economics factord are correlated to higher/lower levels of attainment. This is why they may target any additional resources to pupils entitled to free school meals.

I think in your case OP it has been done insensitively, though just see it as something else you have been offered but as as you say - you are sorted for the holidays some families are not.

Thanks everyone. I really do appreciate all the info and opinions.

I am being precious about aspects of it, I just get really defensive and worried about DD being treated differently.

sorry but when my children were on FSM they got nothing but the meals no payment for trips no special treatment nothing my daughter has never been overseas with the school or on week holidays with them she didnt get a laptop or free internet or other things that are touted as being for deprived children she is however within the top five in her year so im guessing focusing on her work instead of focusing on being a "poor child" has been an advantage for her

op it was a nice idea but suggest next time they pay for postage to spare embarrassment after all they are getting pupil premium they can afford it xx

tobysmum, I wasn't embaressed about her getting one. I was happy to make her packed lunch because I knew she'd eat what I made, didn't expect them to give her two lunches when I said she didn't need it. The answer was that they 'have' to give it, even though she'd been back on packed lunches for months.

Deakymom that's what I was expecting, just the meal. I think I've been naive.

Insummer Im not sure but different LEA's may spend there funds differently depending on what they think are the needs in their area - for example there are some schools with v high English as a 2nd Language and this can affect literact attainment - so money may go towards things related to that. I dont know but this maybe why.

I only ever got FSM 'tickets' when at school. Id have loved to go on a language trip!

Oh Gordon Bennett.

The government wanted to give additional funding to schools to help support children who might be from "deprived" families. No insult intended, just that some families might have less resources at their disposal than others. It's been proved time and time again that children from those families tend to do less well at school than their peers.
Sadly, the government decided that an easy way to decide who came into that bracket was that it would be those families ELIGIBLE for free school meals. So obviously as this is substantial amounts of money, schools encourage families to register if they are eligible. However, even if the family registers, there is absolutely no obligation for their child to actually eat free school meals - not ever.
The school does not have to demonstrate that the Pupil Premium Funding each child attracts has been spent on them personally. So no, they don't have to show a parent that £1300 has been spent on their child. Schools are supposed to think of ways to use the money creatively to support children from the eligible families. Sometimes that even means that other children benefit as well.

For example - PP funding can be spent on employing extra teaching assistants to deliver "interventions" to target specific areas of learning to groups or individual pupils. The fact that a school can pay for some children to go on a trip from PP might mean that the trip actually happens. Whereas in the past, if not enough parents could contribute, travel costs would have meant it had to be cancelled.
Op - I think the school is actually handling this insensitively and they are also wasting PP funding. You should gather your thoughts, maybe make some notes, and go and speak to the Headteacher. If you're not happy with the outcome then maybe ask for the complaints procedure and follow it through, which will involve the governors if necessary.
Children should not be singled out in this way. The school should not be referring to them as "free dinners" because they are eligible for them and have registered. And they should not be wasting PP funding on providing packed lunches that aren't needed and handing out resources for the holidays regardless of the needs of the individual child.
Governors should be monitoring how this funding is spent to accelerate progress and close gaps in learning, they should be concerned if it is being frittered away.

Deakymom you wouldn't necessarily know if your children benefited from Pupil Premium funding. But you should be able to find out. It may be that the focus was on her work and that PP funding paid for resources used.
And by the way everyone - a couple of Google searches will give you a lot of information about Pupil Premium and how it should be used.

The decision on how PP funding is spent is made operationally by the Headteacher, but ultimately is the responsibility of the governing body. The LA cannot dictate how it is spent. There will be variation in different schools, depending on their priorities and their "gaps".

Even if a child is doing well at school, the school has to demonstrate how PP has been used to support them.

I think I'm with the op in that giving her child a second packed lunch is ridiculous, especially if they know she will likely only eat the biscuit. I also would not be happy with my child being singled out for extra work sheets and this being public knowledge and known among children to be because of having fsm. I think this is feeding children the idea that those on fsm aren't as bright and need extra hell. A) this is not always the case, b) it's not good for children to judge like this

so is there a way to find out what the school have spent pp on?

I only ask as both mine are pp and the school gets £1300 for each of them....however apart from fsm, we are still expected to pay out for swimming lessons, trips etc and their school has an above average amount of pupils on pp.

Have you looked at the school website smellyfishead? They are required to report on Pupil Premium and publish it.
Bear in mind also that all of the public minutes of the governing body meetings are available to be read. You can ask and, given reasonable notice, they will be there for you. The papers (non-confidential) of that meeting form part of the minutes and can also be read.
In my experience, a school that understands this and had a clerk who keeps good files will just hand the book over and let you sit somewhere for a read.

p.s. I'd much rather see a school pay out for staff and learning resources than non-essential trips. However, take swimming for example, it tends to be very expensive to run because schools need to hire transport. So even if parents are being asked to make a small contribution, there may still be a lump of PP money going in as well.
There are schools who are using the money to employ an additional member of staff. Imagine - having enough money to pay a well-qualified teacher to work with children who need a bit of extra help in various subjects. Good use of the money I reckon. Studies have shown that results are better if a teacher delivers interventions than if a teaching assistant does, and yet in most schools resources dictate that it is a TA.

nope if anything she has had less opportunities than other children every letter sent home is given to her with well try your best maybe this time your parents will be able to afford it comment then there was the whole singing club they wanted her to join and pay for we haven't been offered a damn thing in fact according to her teachers at this (new high) school my daughter does the teacher assistant job and assists the class she was called next door by a teacher to assist when the whiteboard went down recently and she educates her friends in her lunch hour makes prezzis to help with revision boosts up moral no wonder they all love her all they do is give her work guidelines she educates herself and the class she is brilliant but i wish the teachers would teach her something she doesn't know or something she doesn't just find "interesting" roll on collage? she needed to skip a year somewhere make her work for her grades!