To feel offended by this email from the school?

[PupilpremiumWTF]

I think I'll just post the email without any elaboration for now, and see what people think, this is copied and pasted directly, with identifying info changed:

Dear Mrs X,

It’s great to be able to invite you to a special evening for parents of our Pupil Premium students in Years 7, 8 and 9 on Thursday 20th November 2025.

We’ll be starting with a light buffet tea from 5:00 pm, giving you the chance to chat informally with staff and other parents before the evenings presentations begin.

At 5:30 pm, I’ll give a short overview of how we use Pupil Premium funding here at school to support students’ learning and wellbeing, and to help every child make the best possible progress.

From 6.00 pm to 7:00 pm, we will to be joined by Elevate Education, who will deliver a practical, engaging seminar designed to help parents support learning at home.

Topics covered will include:

- Time Management – helping your child to plan effectively and avoid last-minute stress.

• - Study Support – understanding what effective study looks like and how to make it stick.
• - Motivation – discovering what really drives student motivation and how to nurture it.
• - Parent E-book Access – every parent attending will receive a free e-book full of strategies and guidance.

This is a brilliant opportunity to pick up some useful ideas and find out more about how we’re supporting your child’s progress in school.

I really hope you’ll be able to join us for what promises to be an enjoyable and informative evening.

Please let us know if you can attend by completing the form on EduLink.

Kind regards,

Mr Y
Senior Assistant Headteacher

The school will have data showing that PP outcomes are lower than non-PP. They will therefore be inviting PP parents to work with them in order to improve outcomes.

At our school, we just target all parents with information evenings for each year group. We would probably swerve targeting a specific group of parents.

I think it is probably a funding issue. Schools have to use the pp money for pp students only. This event, the buffet and package from elevate are being paid for out of the pp budget and therefore have to be targeted to those students.

The school would probably prefer to invite everyone but they are not allowed to (and would also likely be criticised for spending pp students money on others if they did). Money is split into different pots and cant be spent freely.

Is it the embarrassment of sitting in school hall knowing all the parents around you are also pp. and the staff knowing face to face which parents are pp?

I can't see anything offensive about the email, though I might be mildly irritated by the inconsistent formatting and the assumption that I had two hours to spare in the early evening.

@PupilpremiumWTF haven’t read the full thread just all your posts and a few from educators too.

My child isn’t in school yet, but as things stand when they do go we won’t qualify for PP. One thing that I would always benefit from until the day I die - time management improvement sessions 🤣 I understand your frustration and 100% can see how it feels like you’re being judged based on your financial standing.

The flip side is -( please please read )what the teachers and educators are saying. There is data and evidence that shows that this group of people could benefit from extra support and that is all the sessions are trying to do. I completely appreciate that you don’t feel you will benefit or need extra support which is fine and it’s not mandatory. But there may be others there who will. I suspect it’s not offered to all because these things cost a lot of money and we’re pretty much in a financial crisis at the moment. So it needs to be targeted to be cost effective so the money that is spent is actually worth it. In the same way we don’t offer mammograms to people under a certain age - the people who are younger are less likely to benefit from- of course some people who are younger may slip through the net which is awful and there will be a lot of people who end up having a mammogram who don’t need one- but the higher ups who make these decisions juggle a lot of balls and ultimately it usually comes down to money. If we could afford parenting classes for every single child in the UK surely we would already be offering thay?

Also I suspect that in order to deliver these sessions well it’s better in smaller groups where people can engage and it can feel interactive and non threatening to ask questions rather a full school hall full of parents being lectured.

As a society we should be welcoming all attempts to close the academic attainment gap caused by socioeconomic deprivation. If this scheme helps one family who wouldn’t otherwise have had the support and the trajectory of their life is changed - I know the right support at school can absolutely do this because it has literally happened to me) then I think it’s worth some people feeling a bit put out because they’ve had an invitation that they can decline. I do know it can feel shit when it feels like you’re being labelled and feeling like a statistic - I say this as a female person of colour. I initially voted YABU before I read the full thread based on the original OP - now I think it’s a bit more nuanced and understand why you’re upset but for reasons stated above can see why it can’t be offered to everyone

I can see how someone might not want to attend and share with others that their children have been awarded pp. It’s like a poverty club you don’t wish to be part of and the free food feels like cheap incentive to attend. (Although it’s a very usual tactic to get people to come to any event regardless of their income) Not sure how they could efficiently offer something more discretely, but I see your point. Schools aren’t great at the individual - unfortunately there will be a lot to suck up whilst uour child attends school - lots of (maybe) well meaning assumptions coming your way on your parenting (parents of SEN dcs will be well used to assumption that their dc is actually NT it’s just their parenting that’s a bit shit)

Students eligible for Pupil Premium are statistically more likely to have lower attainment than their non-eligible peers, a gap that starts in early childhood and widens throughout their school years. However, the Pupil Premium is specifically intended to help close this gap, and its effectiveness varies depending on how schools use the funding to support disadvantaged students.
I think the evening sounds helpful personally but agree they could have done away with the food and drink and invited everyone from the school.

My guess is that this Elevate Education sold your school some kind of programme and your school used some PP funding to purchase it, so now the programme must be aimed at PP-eligible parents.

Then don’t eat the food.

Having good time management and study skills yourself is not the same as teaching them to your child.

YABU. People are offended by fucking everything these days.

It is inviting PP parents only because there is a significant gap in achievement between PP kids and no PP. So clearly there must be home factors that are contributing to the outcome. The school are trying to address this.

They can ONLY invite PP kids as the funding they get for PP come with the caveat that it is ONLY spent on closing the gap. Also, if the whole parent body was invited, inevitably loads of parents would come and take away the support being offered to a very specific group.

If you don't feel you need help with and if it then don't fucking go but don't be offended that it is being offered.

Privilege accumulates more privilege. Things like this have to be targeted or the people who’ve already got privilege get more.

Statistically that assumption is correct, if you look at data people in receipt of PP typically have lower educational outcomes compared to those who aren’t PP, they are also more likely to be excluded, live in poverty etc. Surely as a parent who meets at least one criteria for PP you recognise that this benefits your children to close the attainment gap?

Actually I totally understand why you find it offensive op as it feels like stereotyping. If it helps to reframe it these are just blanket national programmes based on national data that are rolled out from the top that schools have to follow. Schools can feel annoyed too as they've also been included in school programmes based on data! The school would definitely want to include everyone in this, they will be aware of how it comes across, but it's something that they have to offer and could even be useful.

Also previously looked after children come under pp.

Elevate will try and sell families coaching/ study skills sessions.

sounds like you are just looking to be offended
they are trying to do a good thing
lucky you for being offered

Even if offense is your first emotion. It is also possible to have a second thought and assume ‘best intent’ or that a school is ‘acting in good faith’.

It’s possible this invitation to an event with food, to develop closer home/school relationships. It’s possible to appreciate the effort that has gone into it.

Is feeling ‘offence’ helping you to deflect from acceptance that you are part of this group?

But they are acting on metrics and putting support where it’s needed. You may be insulted or feel judged but there will be lots of parents who need this.

You're choosing to tell yourself the story that they’re looking down on you due to your financial situation. They just want to help your child to do well.

Get over your own nonsense and take the help that’s being offered by teachers working outside hours to share their knowledge.

They're offering refreshments to make it easy for parents coming straight from a busy day. If you go on a work training day do you feel offended that they put on a few pastries and coffee, then flounce out saying “I can get my own breakfast, you cheeky beggar!”.

Very few parents (regardless of income) know how to support their kids well through exams. You can let your own hang ups get in the way or engage and get help that a few lucky people are being offered.

I know I sound harsh. I don’t mean to be rude. But please, realise that this isn’t about you.

There is a big push in schools currently to improve outcomes for pp students. If you improve your school with these students in mind, generally every student benefits. There is a pot of money and this school is targeting pp families, which are all very different and have different contexts, to improve engagement with their child's education. If you are already engaged then you dont have to go. I have a yr10 group for a practical subject and I spend part of the pp budget on ingredients for students, this is a realistic and helpful initiative. The evaluate people mentioned would be expensive to buy in but if it improves outcomes then im not going to argue.

Can’t see what the issue is

PP do have worse attainment as a cohort… that’s the whole reason for the extra funding.

Oh get over your self.

I was a PP kid and in hindsight would have loved my parents being able to help me with time management for homework. They are loving parents who ensured we were well fed and went to bed on time but had zero input into homework.

The extra intervention and attention from my teachers gave me the boost to go to university and into a high earning job. Be grateful support exists.

They’re legally not allowed to spend the PP money on all the kids to make it ‘fair’.
it HAS to be spent on the PP kids therefore yes they have to single out those parents into one session and not invite all parents.

accept all the student support and free food you can! You’d be mad not to!
I always want free food haha

Also the school can’t spend PP funding on a talk for all parents. If they were to hold an all year meeting it’d come out of their budget.