Pupil Premium
At St Thomas's we are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to thrive academically, emotionally and socially.
Pupil Premium funding enables us to provide additional support for eligible pupils through high-quality teaching, targeted interventions, pastoral support, enrichment opportunities and resources that help children overcome barriers to learning.
Our aim is to narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, ensuring that all children can achieve their full potential.
What is Pupil Premium?
Pupil Premium is additional government funding provided to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Schools receive funding for:
- Children who are currently eligible for Targeted Free School Meals.
- Children who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point during the last six years (Ever 6 FSM).
- Looked After Children (LAC).
- Previously Looked After Children.
- Children with parents serving in the Armed Forces.
Schools are required to publish information about how Pupil Premium funding is used and the impact it has on pupils' achievement.
Further information can be found on the Government website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium
Free School Meals from September 2026
From September 2026, the Government has expanded Free School Meals so that all children whose families receive Universal Credit are eligible for a free school meal, regardless of household income. Around 500,000 additional children across England are expected to benefit from this change.
There are now two categories of benefits-related Free School Meals:
TargetedFreeSchoolMeals
Pupils whose household receives Universal Credit and has annual earnings of £7,400 or less.
These pupils receive:
- Free School Meals
- Holiday food support (where applicable)
- Pupil Premium funding for the school
Pupils whose household receives Universal Credit with earnings above £7,400 per year.
These pupils receive:
- Free School Meals
However, eligibility in this category does not currently attract Pupil Premium funding for schools.
Why should families still apply?
Even if your child is already receiving:
- Universal Infant Free School Meals (Reception, Year 1 or Year 2), or
- Free School Meals through the expanded Universal Credit entitlement,
it is important that eligible families register for Free School Meals.
Registering helps ensure that:
- your child receives any support they are entitled to;
- the school can identify eligible pupils;
- the school receives any additional funding available through the Pupil Premium programme where applicable.
This funding helps schools provide additional educational support, interventions, pastoral care and enrichment opportunities.
How to Check Eligibility
Families can check their child's eligibility through Medway Council's online service:
https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/medway/
You will need:
- Parent/carer name
- Address
- National Insurance Number or Asylum Support Service Number
- Child's name
- Child's date of birth
- School name
Alternatively, our school office will be happy to assist you with the application process.
Universal Infant Free School Meals and Pupil Premium
All children at St Thomas's in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to Universal Infant Free School Meals regardless of family income.
However, Universal Infant Free School Meals and Pupil Premium are different schemes.
If your family receives Universal Credit or another qualifying benefit, we strongly encourage you to complete a Free School Meals application even if your child already receives universal free meals.
Submitting an application may help the school access additional funding to support your child's education and wellbeing.
Further Information
Medway Council Free School Meals
How will the school use Pupil Premium funding?
The DfE (Department for Education) require schools to publish on their website the following things:
- How funding was spent in the previous academic year and the impact it had on eligible and other pupils.
- The Pupil Premium strategy for the current academic year.
This includes information about:
- the amount of the school’s allocation of pupil premium grant
- details of the main barriers to educational achievement
- how the allocation will be spent to address the barriers and why these approaches were taken
- how the school will measure the impact of the pupil premium
- the date of the next pupil premium strategy review.
This can be found in our Pupil Premium Policy.
Pupil Premium Strategy
The impact of pupil premium funding is monitored and evaluated against pupil attainment and progress 3 times per year. The SLT meet with class teachers to track pupil progress and the impact of interventions on targeted pupils.
Please click the link below to view our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement