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

@sittingonabeach Free space in an after school club each term? Hiring Teaching assistant’s? Anything other than this bloody evening they have planned…

It is a hard one. Presumably, all parents would feel the same so not prone to highlight it…and if chat is needed then, they know all other parents there are in the same boat so they can feel free to have a chat if needed.

If you feel like this, then don’t go.

Can i just ask what is the difference between pupil premium and pupil premium plus? Is it just more money or does it get spent on different things? Just wondering as i used to work in education and I like to keep up to date with new things so i won't be completely out of touch if i am ever able to go back to work.

What is Pupil Premium Plus and How to Spend it? https://share.google/irOZ6iK9bCHBj69XW

Have we lost critical thinking skills? If you feel the evening doesn’t offer you or kids anything useful don’t go. Just because you don’t need that additional support or techniques in supporting your kids in education doesn’t mean there aren’t parents who do need it.

Throwing around the stereotypes at the start highlights the giant chip on your shoulder about being a PP parent. It’s nothing to be ashamed of and if it helps some kids and parents then it’s fantastic the school offers it. I think perhaps you’re being a bit of a snob OP

Statistically pupils on free school meals are likely to benefit from some additional support which is why the school is given the pupil premium funding for them. My son's primary school used to offer some free after school clubs which were opened up to pupil premium kids first and the other kids put their names down if interested and could go if there was any spaces left. They didn't charge any of the kids but the pupil premium kids got priority. It's a good thing because it gave an opportunity to kids whose parent probably couldn't wouldn't have sent them if it wasn't free.

I don't know your circumstances as to why your kids get free school meals but the fact is you do and so you are invited to the thing. If you think it doesn't apply to you don't go - it's an invitation not an order! I really don't see why you would be offended though. It's a chance to find out what the school is spending the money on and what if anything is available that is of relevance to your child. And yes I am sure the free food is an incentive to some. You tend to find that often those who have the time to attend things like this i.e. not working and who would benefit the most probably won't bother going so the school are doing what they can to increase attendance.

Well yes because I imagine statistics show that the majority of the home environments that need improving belong to the pupil premium families....so it's a fairly accurate assumption.
Just because it doesn't apply to you doesn't mean it's not true.

I was 'sponsored' once as a young student, don't want to go into details, but basically if you take somebody's (be it an individual or organisation) charity, you can't bite the hand that feeds you in the form of being offended, upset, unsettled. Obviously there are scenarios when you must not take any nonsense - harassment, violence, abuse, etc. but overall if you are a recipient, you remember that. I learnt this the hard way. And in your case it is clearly done to benefit you or at least done with the general idea of benefiting you and your child, there is no ill intent.

Go ahead, be offended. You’re getting free info which you can use or ignore.

spoiler alert- They aren’t trying to patronise you personally. They are trying to help people and they are doing their best, this riles you, you’re offended, fine; that’s your choice.

I am less easily offended than you. I would grab this free info and the limp sandwiches and get all the value out of it. If it’s useless, what have you lost? A couple of hours?

use this chance to teach your child (a) how NOT to behave like Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells (b) how to turn situations to your advantage and use them for your benefit (c) how to improve your arsy attitude and turn a possible negative into a positive.

That’s the most useful learning for you (and your child).

Is that not the point though? Low income families need help. Chances are if you are a low income household, you are either not sufficiently educated to get a higher paid job or your personal circumstances are such that you are either unable to work full time or at all for any reason eg because you are ill or someone in your household is ill or disabled in some way and you are the primary carer. In either case it's not unreasonable to assume parents of pupil premium kids either do not have sufficient educational skills to raise their children with an education fit to break the low income cycle or due to caring obligations, the parents eye is not 100% focused on the child because they are spinning multiple plates dealing with their own health issues and/or another child requires more attention due to learning difficulties in which case I assume they are going to give some hints, tips and techniques to ensure the child gets the support at home they need to get the most out of the education system. If you don't want to go, don't go but I can't see why you are getting worked up about it as low income households traditionally have children with poorer results hence the need for the pp at all. While that might not be your situation, take it as some free advice from someone who is also looking after your child's interests.

Is it that you’re feeling embarrassed to be singled out as a PParent? I’m not too sure what this is but are you worried being you all together for that evening is going highlight to each other that you’re being given extra support.? School stuff is usually participatory by choice so just don’t go if you’re offended and ask for update via email or something

All things work together for good.Dont worry just embrace everything

It is making a bit of an assumption that parents with pupil premium funding and the children struggle with specific things. It has stereotyped quite a lot. I haven't read all the comments but if that's it, I can see your point. It should have just focused on the celebration and had the other sessions as drop in or optional.

@Slowdownyouredoingfine but parents need support as well as the pupils. And the school are probably offering clubs and possibly employing TA. But in Secondary schools helping parents to help their DC to study is also important

@TheRealHousewifeofCheshire celebrating what?

And the evening is optional

I didn’t know either and I googled. How odd to post the question!

I laughed out loud with your B&H / Stella comment and you are so right. It’s really patronising and I think you should tell them so.

But I thought Burberry was some sort of lux brand… maybe I should google that too

This makes all sorts of assumptions....

Low income - not educated enough for better jobs, not able to parent properly, can't support education, that PP children are stuck in a cycle they need rescuing from. That parents aren't 100% focused on their children. That it's due to personal failure rather than structural inequalities.

Plenty of educated people are in low income jobs. Many parents are incredibly focused on their children.

This is exactly the kind of comment that makes people feel stigmatized. It's no wonder op felt offended by the letter and now it's being confirmed in the replies. You only have to look at the research to realise quite how stigmatized parents with children on PP feel.

I honestly can't see anything that's offensive

Why on earth are you offended? It reads like the school are trying to support parents. As a an earlier poster suggested try and think critically - it’s not all about you and your judgement of what is offensive or not. The school get extra funding for PP children and are engaging directly with that cohort. Will you feel the same when it allows your child to go on a school trip without paying? Is that patronising?

Go or don’t go make a decision and move on.

@Thekidsarefightingagain have you read the statistics and the research?

Yes - there are a number of studies/research papers about the stigma that parents feel.

I understand why you feel it's patronising and I think it's a mis-step on the school's part, but statistically, educational outcomes for PP students are so, SO much lower than for non-PP students. You can talk about not generalising or stereotyping until the cows come home, but most schools put a huge amount of time and effort into trying to support PP students and 'close the gap' but even then, what they can do in school is limited. It's not wrong for them to offer support to parents who may not be in a position to support learning without the information they're offering, or to focus their time and resources on the demographic who (are proven to) need it?

The school may very well do events for other groups (SEN, EAL) but unless you're part of those, you wouldn't know about them?

I do think it's insensitive and would be better if all parents were invited to benefit from study techniques, etc. I think it would be more likely that the pupil premium parents would go and accept the support without feeling embarrassed.

There is a stigma to pupil premium / free school meals and it feels like for a long time that was acknowledged and systems changed so it was not obvious who was / was not paying for their lunch, but now seems to have universally gone backwards with there being no discretion about identifying PP premium kids. Feels like a barrier to accessing support.

@Thekidsarefightingagain so we should just ignore the lower educational outcomes?

Stigmatizing approaches actually reduce engagement and worsen outcomes. You can offer the same support without singling families out by income. Better attendance = better outcomes. It's not about ignoring results, it's about using approaches that actually work.