Schools to benefit from extra funding for taking on disadvantaged pupils

December 13 2010

Schools in England are to be given an extra £430 for every child from a disadvantaged background they take on, the government has announced.

Outlining the details of its planned pupil premium scheme, the coalition government has revealed that individual head teachers will be given the power to spend the money how they see fit, though it is intended to be put towards enabling less well-off students to benefit from one-to-one tuition.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander explained that the move will help funnel funds towards helping the most disadvantaged in UK society, and specifically those children whose parents earn less than £16,000 per year.

"It means that if you are running a school and you have children who receive free school meals then you will get an additional £430 for each of those pupils in the next school year," he said.

However, according to the Guardian, Labour is set to attack the move, arguing that, by failing to protect per-pupil funding in real-terms - that is taking into account inflation - pupils from poorer homes are likely to lose out over the next few years.

Meanwhile, in Wales, Plaid Cymru has similarly argued that the government's budgetary plans will be felt by professionals working in teaching jobs as well as their pupils over the months ahead.

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