Pupil premium funding never spent on my child.

[curlykaren]

My son has just gone into year 5 primary. Throughout his primary years he has attracted pupil premium funding to the school as my income as a single parent is low. I've found out that this year the school are holding mandarin language classes for children of mandarin/bilingual households. I am really good friends with one of the Mum's who has a son in these extra language classes. Her financial and family situation is vastly different to mine, her son doesn't attract pupil premium funding to the school. Over the years my son has had 6 Lego therapy sessions, one book and two trips (to free venues-museums). AIBU to be really fucking pissed off that my son doesn't benefit, in any meaningful way, from this funding when meanwhile the school are offering these extra language classes? If your child attracts the pupil premium funding to their school please share with me what the school offer to enhance their education? AIBU in asking the school how they are funding these classes?

My daughter gets PP and as a result gets reduced price trips and music tuition. She doesn't get free school meals though because I get working tax credit, seems ridiculous to me because my income is actually lower than the threshold for somebody who is working but gets universal credit instead.

I ALWAYS have to ask the PP to be added though, we pay online for all things via school money and her pupil premium is never taken into accounts and price reduced automatically.

I'm supposedly able to get £50 towards uniform too, however it has never been offered and I haven't asked as I've always been very happy with the Aldi pinafores!

For interest due to this thread, I've just googled our school name plus pupil premium. We got £1320 total extra for the year 17/18 and it went towards the salary of a TA.

My children's primary school (400 pupils) received £80,660 last year for pupil premium - we have just under the national average amount of pupil premium children. DS1's superselective grammar has an extremely low percentage of students on pupil premium (quelle surprise) and received a mere £33,985 for £1300+ students.

Where the primary school uses it for TAs, pastoral staff, extra english and maths groups, breakfast clubs etc, the grammar tends to use it to support individual students financially when required (a passport for a student to go on a trip, a laptop, printer and home wifi for one student, a special reading pen for a PP student with SEN, specialist training on attachment disorder for staff dealing with one student, clinical psychologist training the staff to support a student). Much more specific help - but I suppose they don't take students who are struggling to meet government targets anyway, do they!

OP, would you say that your child is disadvantaged in educational attainment? As has been said, part of the remit of PP was to narrow the gap in attainment between PP and other cohorts. If your child is meeting educational targets and progressing as expected or ahead of expectation, then it would be necessary to consider how else the money could be used to benefit him.

Do seek further clarification though. There may be something you haven’t been made aware of and if not, you’re within your rights to find out how your child is benefitting (or not).

As an example, I know of situations in secondary schools where such funding has been used to provide uniform, as has been said, but also to buy a washing machine in school, so that certain students could wash their uniform. If they aren’t coming to school because they either don’t have uniform, or because they don’t have the means to launder it at home, that seems to me to be a good use of the funds. It enables students to regularly attend, who otherwise wouldn’t.

I have no idea. My school pleads poverty then spends money on massage classes and bibles for leavers.

OP, by following your logic, any school with PP students shouldn’t do anything extra for gifted/advanced students as they have an «advantage»

As I've stated already, pupil premium funding isn't just for remedial activities. No child in an English primary school NEEDS mandarin lessons, its not part of the national curriculum. At best its an exercise in vanity at worst it diverts funding from other activities.

No child in an English primary school NEEDS mandarin lessons, its not part of the national curriculum.
No child NEEDS to go on a trip.
No child NEEDS to do football and have football boots provided.
No child NEEDS a laptop at home.

At best its an exercise in vanity at worst it diverts funding from other activities.

We get it. You dislike the fact that other children are getting an educational opportunity that doesn't include your child.

Plus the OP has just said that PP doesn't have to be remedial... but then criticises the existence of a Mandarin class because it's not in the curriculum.

And this is a class that they have no proof is funded through PP.
Classic case of "but it's not fair".

My son gets one 1-2-1 session with teacher before school. He doesn’t need support nor if he gifted.

One after school activity paid for a term. This term football (£59)

I don’t pay for swimming or any school trips at all.

1-2-1 once a week

PE/sport and trips related to topical learning are part of the national curriculum though. Of course some children might need a laptop if they can't access online learning requirements.
Absolutely I don't like my child being excluded from learning opportunities, am I supposed to be embarrassed by that?

Extremely affluent area
14 pupil premium students out off 536 children

Absolutely I don't like my child being excluded from learning opportunities, am I supposed to be embarrassed by that?
So to conclude this has nothing to do with school PP funding and everything to do with the fact you can't stand other children having a different educational opportunity.

Anyone interested in why pupil premium isn’t working to narrow the education gap should read this blog by Becky Allen.

rebeccaallen.co.uk/2018/09/10/the-pupil-premium-is-not-working/

Pupil premium may end up in the general school pot in the future.

You are not being unreasonable - I would be pretty pissed off as well. Reminds me of the days when my son qualified for funding for extra help with his work as he has SN only to find 'his' funding was helping other children as well. All that fighting for funding to give it to someone else.

ScarlettPimpernell123

But those children needed the support but perhaps income was £10 more than necessary to receive pupil premium!

noblegiraffe
I love the point about PP students not having homogeneous needs.

It's why I hate the briefings of 'can we ask all staff to do X for PP?' or 'make a list of what is being done for your PP students?'.

I don't 'do anything for my 'PP students', but I do my best to ensure that Daniel and Sarah and Mia and Charlotte and Max all get the best possible standard of education and I intervene to meet their needs as individuals because they are individuals. So Mia might need putting forward for TA intervention but Max might need some extension activities and school to fund a workshop with a local university. They are individuals and should be treated as such, not put on blanket initiatives to tick a box or appease a parent saying 'it's not fair..."

Maisypops, as already established the pupil premium funding goes into a larger pot, therefore I'm concerned with the dispensation of the whole pot of money? No? There are multiple examples on this thread demonstrating a variety of ways in which pupil premium funding has been used to directly benefit the students who attract it. None of these apply to my child. Perhaps you just think I'm too poor to be allowed an opinion on school funding?

OP

Have you ever asked to meet with the person in charge of administering pupil premium (perhaps sen department or finance), and calmly just had a chat.

I did this. I wanted to know what it was about and how the school approached it. I said I wasnt happy with one element of it. They took it on board and it was resolved.

Don’t flare up, don’t be defensive. Just engage with the school and express your thoughts

Perhaps you just think I'm too poor to be allowed an opinion on school funding

Whatever you do, don’t start spouting nonsense like this

So you can't imagine how using 'your' pp, together with that of others, to find an extra ta benefits your child?

Not too poor but perhaps a bit bitter. Does your kid actually WANT to do Mandarin?

In my school staff have to know who all the PP children are that they work with so they can make sure they are prioritised. They get priority for intervention groups (over children who may have a greater academic need but who are not PP), they get prioritised for clubs, they get trips and residentials paid for if the parents can't afford it. There are other things going on as well such as pastoral support and mentoring schemes and but I'm not involved in all of them so couldn't tell you exactly what they entail.

No child in an English primary school NEEDS mandarin lessons

You have yet to find any proof that PP money was used on these lessons?

its not part of the national curriculum

Primary schools have been required to teach a language at KS2 for some years now.

There are multiple examples on this thread demonstrating a variety of ways in which pupil premium funding has been used to directly benefit the students who attract it. None of these apply to my child

Have you asked? Is your child failing in any way? Is he behind his peers in his school/town/county/nationally?

Perhaps you just think I'm too poor to be allowed an opinion on school funding?

What?

Unless I've missed something it seems to be.

1. My child draws PP funding. Some other students have mandarin lessons. I have zero idea how this is funded but it's not on. My child doesnt get anything. How do your schools spend PP?
2. People outline different ways PP can be spent and most people say it is to close attainment gaps across a cohort.
3. Yes but it's not fair that they do Mandarin. That makes the gap bigger.
4. It doesn't have to be remedial. It could be other things. But not Mandarin class because nobody needs Mandarin.
5. So yes I am annoyed other children have a different opportunity.
6. You think I'm too poor to have an opinion.