The Government has used pupils entitled to free schools meals as an indicator for deprivation, and have deployed a fixed amount of money for schools per pupil, based on the number of students registered for free school meals. In September 2012, the Ever6 rule was applied so that pupils who have ad free school meals or other indicators in the last 6 years are included in the pupil premium measure. Students from armed forces families receive a smaller amount of £300 per annum.
Schools are responsible for allocating money to employ strategies that they know will support their pupils to increase their attainment and ‘narrow the gap’. Schools will be accountable for narrowing the gap, and this expectation applies to special schools where there is a focus on expected rates of progress in comparison to national data sets