What sort of stuff can the pupil premium be used for?

[madmomma]

My nephew is a foster child and receives the pupil premium (he's in yr 5). Or rather the school receives it. I understand that foster children are entitled to have the money spent directly on them, is that accurate? It's my mum who is fostering him and we were wondering what we could ask the school to do with the money. So for example he is very musical and my mum would like him to have a (2nd hand) piano. I feel like maybe the school might just hope they can 'absorb' the money into the overall budget and that perhaps he might be missing out on an opportunity to develop his interests. Could he for example have some books? Or does the money have to go on his time in school. Any clarification or examples would be welcome. Thanks.

Not sure about a piano but it can be used for music lessons and towards hiring an instrument.

The Pupil Premium policy and information about how it is spent should be on the school's website - it is a requirement.

At the primary school where I am a governor it is spent on TA salaries (it is a tiny school with mixed age classes and this gives a staff:pupil ratio of 8 and benefits many PP recipients), trips, school clubs, instrument hire, music lessons, Yr 6 residential etc. etc. You are fully within your rights to directly ask the school how their decisions about PP expenditure benefit your child. OfSted is red hot on PP expenditure and this is a prime focus at the moment. We have to justify how every penny is spent.

My personal view on it all is that the PP would not be required if schools were properly funded.

It has to be used to benefit the pupil, but not necessarily solely to benefit that pupil.

So may be used to but in extra ta support to help a small group, including your mum's child, with a particularly weak area.

Or could be used to buy books for the school library which he could read.

Or support for an extra activity. To subsidise a visiting teacher. Etc.

You can ask them how their spending it and ask how that will benefit your boy, but you can't demand they spend it in a particular way.

It could be used to buy a piano for school, but I'd be amazed if they agreed to use it for a piano for home.

If you look at the school website there will be somewhere a Pupil Premium statement - schools have to show how the money has been spent and what it has achieved. That might give you a better understanding of what the money is used for currently in the school.
While you're right that schools get a "per pupil" amount of PP funding, it's not as targeted on a specific pupil as you seem to think - it's not like it's "this bit is Little Jimmy's money, we'll spend it on him". It's a lump sum which is usually spent collectively on all the PP children - so something like funding an additional TA for intervention, maybe buying in more SEN support etc. It can be used to fund educational trips or music lessons, but I've not come across it being used for an instrument before.

Thanks, just seen on the pp awards website that it been used for laptops, tablets, bikes, a nutritionist, clothing, tuition, TAs... Looks really varied. On the school website there is a heading for pp policy, but the section is empty.

It's quite concerning that the website doesn't detail what they're doing - if you scroll down a bit on this link you'll see what they're required to publish. Ofsted would come down on them like a ton of bricks for that.

Oh dear that's a bit naughty. Thanks for that link

As others have said, you need to say what you spend it on but there are no rules about what it's spent on. But no, you won't be able to tell school you want them to buy a piano for home with it.

I thought that if the child was in care the pp had to be spent directly on that child's education. And that if it was 'just' a disadvantaged child or SEN child then they could spend it on support staff. Obviously I've got the wrong info from somewhere.

We use pp to pay for dance classes. It has to support his learning - which piano does. Schools really vary in the extent to which they work in partnership with parents over this.

No, PP children are a mixed bag - Looked After Children (so in local authority care), those entitled to free school meals (or who have been entitled in the last 6 years), children of members of the armed forces.

Music lessons, yes. Some of our local schools used it for 11+ clubs.

I can't imagine they would use it to buy him a piano for his house though.

If they are in care, the spending should be detailed on their PEP.

As well as all the above, our PP money has bought a desk for a child that had nowhere to do homework and often pays for ingredients for home ec. Ask about the piano, you never know!

It might be easier to get them to hire a piano.

PP for LAC is entirely different from ordinary PP. The amount is £1900 p.a., however the local authority will top slice that, so not all will be available to the school. For LAC, it must be spent on the child only, unlike the other PP funding which goes into school pot, and school may decide how to spend.
When is his next PEP review? Usually his needs and PP spending would be discussed and recorded then.
It definitely could go on instrument hire and lessons, but not purchase. (You would not get a good 2nd hand piano for that amount in any case. Not with tuition as well). The school can have some say (e.g. if he's very behind academically, they can push one to one tuition, but music lessons are of universal benefit to a child). The SW should also be involved - supposed to be SW, carer and school designated teacher at the PEP review meeting.
The info on the website to comply with OFSTED is for how they spend the PP for disadvantaged and service children only.

That's what I thought Haskell

Thanks very much for all the replies I'll give my mum the info to take to his next review

For a piano, can I suggest your local freecycle? People are always getting rid of them.

May I ask if you're in an area of grammar schools, and whether he is academically able? It could be used to purchase 11+ prep, and give him a chance at an academic school.

Instrument learning is excellent for children though, it promotes:
listening skills
physical development
self- discipline
co-ordination
co-operative skills (through playing in groups and ensembles)
emotional wellbeing
There is also evidence to suggest that extra-curricular activities boost children's performance academically.

May I suggest not getting a piano from freecycle? There's nothing that will put a child off practising more than a shonky instrument! Struggling to keep in tune is hard enough for a beginner. An inexpensive electric piano would be preferable, just need to make sure the keys are a good size.

Lol! It was just an idea...my local,freecycle is full of pianos...I guess there's a reason why!

OP - Haskell is right. For Looked After Children it's something called Pupil Premium Plus, and should be spent on things that directly benefit him. The Pupil Premium received for lower income students, military children etc has to spent on activities that benefit that cohort of children (but not necessarily individual children). If your nephew is being looked after by your mum, he might not be formally a LAC?

The Sutton Trust has a useful toolkit on the sorts of interventions that have the biggest impact, by the way.

Lots of children on Care Orders live with extended family.

needsahalo sorry, just usually people give them away because they're too expensive to maintain or dispose of properly!

I had no idea about the difference in PP for LAC children and feel bad I was giving dud information - it's been a valuable lesson in how one should never try to be an expert on the internet. It must be very hard to administrate, I'd have thought.

A bloody nightmare!
Our LA tend to be divvying it out about 9 mo after they've received it, too
Though, in our LA, even though they take (I think) £400 off each 'pot' of money before giving it to schools (to 'run' the Virtual LAC school at the LA), they do have a system whereby you can apply to them for extra funding for things that have a big cost- e.g. an expedition to the Arctic, or a sports camp that might be 2 weeks in the summer, but cost £3000, if the child is gifted.