Disadvantaged Pupils To Benefit From Extra Funding

Disadvantaged pupils at inner city London schools are to benefit from new financial investment and Bromley Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford, has welcomed the additional money that will be spent on children from deprived backgrounds.

London schools are set to benefit from an extra £224,586,000 to support disadvantaged pupils and over 375, 000 pupils are expected to be eligible.

The Pupil Premium will be extending its reach to cover any child that has been registered for Free School Meals in the past six years. For 2012-13, the Premium will be worth £1.25 billion in total. England's most disadvantaged pupils are to benefit from £600 each after the Department for Education announced next year's Pupil Premium will increase by £112 for each pupil.

Sarah Ludford commented:

"For too long, social background has been a deciding factor in a child's chances for the future. Children who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. Of students gaining three As at A-level in 2008, 30 per cent were privately educated, whereas only 0.5 per cent were eligible for Free School Meals."

"No child born in London in the 21st century should have their fate decided by their family's wage packet. This money will go towards making our education system more equitable. As a Liberal Democrat, I believe that in a fair society, a Government should work to overcome this disadvantage and help children reach their full potential. The money will be ploughed into additional tuition, better IT resources and closer work with parents."

The latest figures available show that only 56% of 11-year-olds known to be eligible for Free School Meals achieved the expected level in both English and mathematics compared with 77% for non-FSM pupils, while just 31% of pupils eligible for FSM achieved five A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics, compared with 59% for pupils not eligible for FSM.

Up to £50m of the £1.25bn will be used to support a Summer School programme to help the most disadvantaged pupils make the transition from primary to secondary school.

In Lewisham 13,700 children are eligible and in Lambeth 15,130 children are eligible, just how the decision as to which borough's pupils are most in need is reached is questionable, considering Croydon and Bromley do not even feature on the current list and according to the statistics given nearly 5,000 children from Kensington & Chelsea are eligible for the Pupil Premium. 

While this new funding is a positive step, I hope the pupils who really need the extra help are the ones who actually receive it, as with any new measures there are always some who miss out because they might not fall into the right catchment area or special category and this could prove to be detrimental to the motivation and educational advancement of these particular children.

What do you think?