Why did I get financial support at school?

[lindaandrews]

I am adopted but also have parents on low income.

Growing up I always wondered why I was on Pupil Premium and eligible for bursaries - if it was due to being adopted or my parents being low income.

Suppose my parents had been rich, would I still have got such things due to being adopted? Is there like an adoption allowance adopters get?

Adopted and looked after children get priority for a lot of things - same with low income.

It’s thought these groups don’t do as well at school and it’s there to give additional support and extras - for example music lessons, helping with the cost of trips,

It’s evening out opportunities- and so it should.

Adopted children (officially called 'Post Looked After Children) receive Pupil Premiim regardless of how wealthy their adoptive parents are.

If you think of Pupil Premium as being a bit of a "catch up" or "levelling" fund is that better? Children of Armed Services personnel get it too, it's a recognition that some groups might have a more difficult time accessing education. Sometimes it's used for paying for things like the PP child's place on a school trip, but it can also be used for small group/therapy work and so much more.

Statistically, looked -after children fare worse than their peers regarding exam results. This is a generalisation. Funding is available to help the schools support PP children - not all need it but the funding is there.

Pupil premium is a funding mechanism to channel more funds into schools which have adopted children and children with additional needs. It follows the child, irrespective of the parents income.

Some adopters do get an adoption allowance, dependent on the needs of the child. It is usually means tested. In some cases where the child had very high level of need it might be given without means testing.
I received one, means tested and reviewed every year, as long as my son was in full time education

You have only just left school. All children adopted from care in England qualify for enhanced pupil premium funding at school. It goes to the school not the parents and is not means tested.

Adoption allowances can be paid to adoptive parents for some harder to place children.

When you say “channel funds into school” - if all the money goes to me, then does the school benefit or not? Does the school get extra money for me on top of what I get in bursaries?

Yes the school got extra money direct to them meant to help enhance your educational attainment. (Some schools are better at spending it in a focused way than others.)

I'm not really sure what you are getting at but this is roughly how school funding works

State schools are funded according to the number of pupils. So a school with 200 pupils gets more funding than a school with 150 pupils.
On top of the basic allocation, a pupil with additional needs or who fall into a particular category will attract more funding. Pupil premium is one of these additional funding pots. Schools complete a census each year which identifies how many children they have in each category. Schools have some freedom in how they spend the extra money but it is not ring fenced to the particular child. Some schools may spend the money on that child, others may find it more beneficial to pool the additional funds and use it to pay for eg TAs, extra curricular activities, another teacher
Bursaries are not given for pupils attending state schools.
Private schools are funded by fees, in most cases paid by the parents. Bursaries may be offered to children attending independent schools from lower income families to offset the cost of attending eg fees, uniforms. Its up to the school what bursaries they offer and to whom
Private schools cannot claim PP unless the place is funded by the local authority

So is Pupil Premium the same as Free School Meals or not having to pay for school trips?

IIRC from my days working in this area, the Post-LAC PP is a bit different from the deprivation PP (ie the one linked to the number of children receiving free school meals). Post-LAC is supposed to be spent on that specific child, whereas the more general deprivation PP can be used by the school as a general pot, to improve the outcomes for deprived children in the school generally.

Enhanced Pupil Premium for adopted children does not qualify for free school meals.
It is school specific whether they subsidise school trips for PP or enhanced PP.

Is this general interest only, or do you have an 'aim' behind these questions?

All info is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium