Recommendation 12

The Department provides pupil premium funding (£2.2 billion in 2020–21) to help schools improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.14 From April 2021, the Department has calculated pupil premium allocations based on the number of eligible pupils recorded by schools in the school census in the preceding October, rather than the more recent January census as was previously the case. As a result, schools received £90 million less in pupil premium funding.15 We asked the Department why it made this change. The Department said that there were two reasons: firstly, to bring pupil premium 7 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.31, 2.33 8 SCF0001 Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope, Plymouth Marjon University submission, pages 1–2 9 SCF0002 NASUWT submission, page 2 10 Qq 59–61 11 Qq 59–60 12 Q 59 13 Qq 75, 78 14 C&AG’s Report, Figure 2 15 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.34, 1.37 10 School Funding into line with most other aspects of school funding which were based on the October census; and secondly, because the COVID-19 pandemic had meant there were high levels of uncertainty around the January 2021 census.16 Transparency over funding levels