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Pupil premium is a mechanism to get funding into schools, its not ring fenced and doesnt have to be spent specifically on the child for which it is claimed. Its good practice for schools to consult parents but they dont have to. You say that school is supporting her with speech 'etc', so its reasonsable to assume this is where some of the funds are spent

My son has an EHCP, I confess I haven't a clue what his PP+ is spent on, he is doing well and his needs are being met, he gets the support he so I've never questioned how the money is spent.

I know some schools have funded after school school activities so there's no harm in asking

I can't say I have had success, but reading your post your school sounds like ours. There is no differentiation between how they spend pupil premium and pupil premium plus. When I asked the question, because my DS does have extra needs, I was told it funds a TA, from which he gets less help from others. I have searched the government website re use of the pupil premium plus and also tried the virtual school but all to no avail. Although it was given to schools at an enhanced rate to help previously LAC children, as they can decide how they spend it, it seems to depend on how open the school is to listen to the parent. Sorry this is not what you wanted to hear.

Thanks Bluemetro your experiences do sound like ours. My other daughters pre-school has always discussed her EYPP with us prior to spending. Ultimately the spend always benefits the whole setting.

Thanks Serrakunda27 for your response. Sorry to be clear my daughter is no longer receiving any additional support with her speech or educationally. I was under the impression that whilst the PP+ payment is not ring fenced that the school should differentiate between the needs of the children who attract PP and PP+.

I think you also need to remember that £1900 is actually not that much when it comes to purchasing support - you would need several children's allocation to fund a TA, if it was buying in extras, putting on after school activities, buying specialist support, its not going to go far spent on an individual basis

I think this is a lot of misunderstanding about the whole thing - its a funding mechanism, not an individual cheque for a child

Funding of a forest school for example would be a real bonus for most children, some TA support is better than no TA support. My son has had access to a TA, no doubt funded from numerous children's PP. He doesnt need it so much now, so I'm sure other children now benefit more from 'his' PPP than he does in that sense. How do you work out over several years which bit of the TA was paid for out of which child's allocation. You can't obviously,

The real issue is about getting the support a child needs, and PPP is not the sole answer to that.

Thanks. To be clear my child gets no TA support in addition to the rest of her class as she doesn’t need it. And I am not asking for the school to introduce new after school clubs.

By the way PP+ is £2300. PP is £1320. People often get the two confused and they shouldn’t. The guidance for spending is different.

The PP+ is the only ‘funding’ the school gets for her attending the school so it is the only mechanism in place for support. So the PP+ is the answer for us to get the support she needs. Her needs are social and emotional which is what the PP+ documents state it should support rather than those who attract PP from disadvantaged backgrounds.

I am certainly not thinking it is an ‘individual cheque’ for my child but as documents relating to PP+ state ‘while the money is not ring-fenced the funding should specifically benefit those pupils for whom it has been allocated’. Also in relation to the new designated teacher role it appears that the PP+ funding should be separate to PP funding in terms of its spending and it’s reporting. So the school needs to demonstrate a LAC or previous LAC child is benefitting from funding and it is not grouped with those attracting PP.

This is why I made the comment about forest school, whilst an asset to the school, benefits those children who are from disadvantaged backgrounds ie who attract PP and do not address specific needs of my daughter.

I wonder what would not be funded should my daughter not be at the school?

All I was asking is if anyone’s school had paid for their child to attend an after school club for their child using PP+. And more specifically if they had managed to use it for an activity outside the school obviously assuming it meets the child’s needs.

Hi Danat

Sorry I took so long to reply I have been trying to log in all week-end! My daughter's previous school used her PP+ to pay for after school activities like dance and drama clubs. I do know of friends whose children have been able to use PP+ to fund horse riding but I think that it depends on the school. Schools seem to be very cagey about what they spend PP+ on, my daughter's current school lists off a lot of additional support that is provided to support social and emotional needs but you are right about what would be provided if your child was not at the school. My daughter is the only child in receipt of PP+ (I know that because I have been told by the SENCO) but all of the provision was in place for children before she joined the school so clearly they were using other funds to make the additional support available. The school can also use PP+ for staff training which I personally think is a great use as a lot of children can benefit from improved practice with regards to attachment and trauma whether they are previously LAC or not.

Thank you Sunny11 I am grateful for your response.

That sounds a bit more promising for me to put a case together for something for my daughter.

Yes our school is cagey about the use of the money aswell and the responses i`ve had regarding spending only highlights to me that they do not understand the difference in the needs of the child attracting PP and those who attract PP+.

Staff training is a good use - We have 2 classes for each year group at our school. The head has just made the decision regarding placing my youngest daughter in the opposite reception class to her 3 main friends from nursery. This will be a challenge for her but there are benefits of going into the opposite class. But I do wonder about his understanding about loss, separation and attachement particularly when I had meeting with him last year concerned about transition into year1 for my older daughter!