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Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 to provide additional funding to support children who are looked after and those from low income families, including those eligible for Free School Meals.

Reading School aims to be a school of opportunity and success for all pupils, including, and especially, those who are in receipt of the Pupil Premium. Reading School Pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium are initially identified before commencing their career at Reading School. They are pupils from the following groups:

  • Pupils who have been on Free School Meals at any time during the last six years (Ever 6)
  • Children Looked After who have been so for at least six months as of 1 April the previous year
  • Children with a parent in the armed forces.

The needs analysis for the Pupil Premium is an on-going process throughout a pupil’s career at Reading School.

Reading School is accountable for our use of the additional funding to support pupils from low income families and the other target groups stated above.

We believe that the measure of successful spending should be raising standards, the narrowing of the achievement gap and the broadening of opportunities for the most disadvantaged pupils at Reading School.

Reading School Promise

Our aim is to make Reading School as open as possible to all children.  We know that parents worry about the cost of sending their child to school and we want to take that worry away.  Any boy offered a place at Reading School, who is eligible for pupil premium, can get financial help via our Reading School Promise.  The Reading School Promise is available for those students in Years 7 - 11. 

Please see below for the Reading School Promise document.

Free School Meals

If you are in receipt of any of the following you will be entitled to Free School Meals for your child:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • An income related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
  • The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
  • Note: If you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment ceases, or after you start to work less than 16 hours per week, your child/children are entitled to free school meals.  

Please complete the free school meal application form and return to the school office.  

Pupil Premium (Year 7 to Year 11)

Reading School receives additional funding for students in Year 7 to Year 11 who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible for free school meals in the previous 6 years; this additional funding is often referred to as the Pupil Premium. The Reading School Promise is our commitment to allocate a proportion of our Pupil Premium annual funding to support those pupils who attract additional funding for the school.

To apply for funding, please complete the Request Form.

16 – 19 Bursary (Year 12 and Year 13)

The 16-19 Bursary Fund is given to support sixth form students in financial hardship. We aim to achieve fairness and consistency in the distribution of the 16-19 Bursary Fund, which is a limited fund given by the Education Funding Agency. We encourage Year 12 and Year 13 students eligible for free school meals, or previously eligible for Pupil Premium funding, to apply. The School's 16-19 Bursary Policy can be viewed below, and it contains the application form.

Covid-19 Catch Up Premium Strategy

The government announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up lost time after school closure. This is especially important for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. This funding includes:

  • a one-off universal £650 million catch up premium for the 2020 to 2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time
  • a £350 million National Tutoring Programme to provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who need the most help, which includes:

Please find link below to the Covid-19 Catch Up Premium Strategy

Covid-19 Catch Up Premium Strategy