Ashdon Primary School
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Small school. Big welcome.
Reception places for September 2027!
Open Evening - 11th November @ 18:00 or
book a private tour to suit your schedule!
Pupil Premium
The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and to close the gap between them and their peers.
Funding is provided for:
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pupils eligible for targeted free school meals (FSM), and pupils who have been eligible at any point in the last six years — known as the ‘Ever 6’ measure
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children looked after by a local authority, and children who were previously looked after but have left care through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order — together known as Pupil Premium Plus
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children from service families, through a separate strand called the Service Pupil Premium, which is intended mainly for pastoral support
For the 2026 to 2027 financial year, the rates are £1,550 for each eligible primary-aged pupil, £2,690 for each looked-after or previously looked-after pupil, and £360 for each eligible service child.
What has changed from September 2026
From the start of this academic year, free school meals are available to every child in a household receiving Universal Credit, regardless of household earnings. At the same time, the transitional protections that have been in place since 2018 have ended, so entitlement is now based on a family’s current circumstances rather than on past eligibility, and is rechecked each year.
Pupil Premium funding has not been extended in the same way. It continues to be based on the previous income threshold of £7,400 a year. This creates two groups: ‘expanded FSM’, where a child is entitled to a free meal; and ‘targeted FSM’, where a child is entitled to a free meal and also attracts Pupil Premium funding for the school, along with access to wider support such as the Holiday Activities and Food programme. The ‘Ever 6’ measure now follows targeted FSM.
Why registering still matters
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 already receive a free lunch through the universal infant entitlement, but that is separate from registering for free school meals. It is the registration that brings additional funding to the school, and in a school of our size a single registration makes a real difference to what we can offer.
If your circumstances have changed, or if you have never applied, please do check — it takes only a few minutes. The school office can help you with the application in complete confidence. We are only ever told whether a child is eligible; we never see details of your income or benefits.
How we use the funding, and how we account for it
Schools decide how to spend their Pupil Premium, but it must be used on approaches supported by evidence, and we are held accountable for the difference it makes to the pupils it is intended for.
We are required to publish an annual strategy statement, using the Department for Education’s template, setting out our allocation, the barriers our disadvantaged pupils face, how the funding is being spent and what impact it has had. The strategy below was reviewed in July by our Pupil Premium link governor and will again be reviewed by the full governing body during the December meeting before the final strategy is published by 31 December each year.
Click on the links below
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Read the Government guidance by clicking on the DfE image below.
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Read the Ashdon Primary Pupil Premium Strategy by clicking on the Pupil Premium Strategy image below.
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Please also see the Pupil Premium Uniform Scheme Letter by clicking on the book image below.
2026-2027
2025-2026
