Pupil Premium
Looked-after children and young people are eligible for Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) funding. This funding is to be used to improve their educational attainment and to close the attainment gap between them and their peers.
Pupil Premium for Looked-After Children (Reception - Year 11)
The Department for Education (DfE) allocates a nominal amount of £2,630 of Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) funding per looked-after child in Reception to Year 11. PP+ is under the direct control of the Virtual School Head who determines how this funding is managed and distributed. The funding is paid by the Virtual School Head to education settings to support individual children and young people to make progress in education and to achieve their goals rather than to support the more general work of the school. Under the Manchester Virtual School PEP process, all children and young people in the care of Manchester City Council, in Reception to Year 11, can access up to £650 Pupil Premium Plus funding per term.
To ensure this funding is being used effectively to support each child and young person, its release is dependent upon the completion of a high-quality termly Personal Education Plan (PEP). The team of Manchester Virtual School PEP Quality Assurance Teachers read every child’s PEP each term and provide written feedback to their Designated Teacher and Social Worker. Allocation of the funding must be linked to the young person’s SMART targets within their plan.
Schools will be asked to give detailed information in the termly PEP on how the funding is to be spent, total costs, and the intended impact. If the funding is to be used for tuition, coaching, or booster sessions, schools will be asked to give information on how many sessions are being delivered and who they are being delivered by. If funding is being used to purchase services or resources, schools will be asked to provide information within the child’s PEP about on when the item has been bought and given to the young person. The Designated Teacher will also be asked to upload an invoice for each item purchased to the documents section of the child’s electronic Personal Education Plan (ePEP), to ensure a clear audit trail.
Please see the Pupil Premium FAQs tab for more information about Pupil Premium Plus and what it can be used for.
If additional Pupil Premium Plus funding is required for a child in the care of Manchester who is in Reception to Year 11, please contact the appropriate Virtual School PEP Quality Assurance Teacher. Please ensure that the Virtual School has approved any additional funding before any expenditure is committed to.
Centrally held Pupil Premium Plus funding is used by the Manchester Virtual School to provide the following offers to all schools:
● Wide-ranging training, networking opportunities and resources
● Support to improve the quality of Personal Education Plans
● Swift access to Educational Psychology consultation and support where appropriate
● Additional funding for individual young people where specific and complex needs are identified through the PEP process. (Please contact the appropriate Virtual School PEP Quality Assurance Teacher if additional funding is required.)
Pupil Premium for Looked-After Children in Early Years
Children aged 2 - 4 years old who are looked after and who receive free early education will be eligible for Early Years Premium (EYPP) funding. This is additional funding for early years settings to improve the quality of education they provide for disadvantaged 2- 4-year-olds.
EYPP is paid from the Department for Education (DfE) to the local authority based on how much time a child spends with their Early Years provider. Those children that use the full 570 hours may be entitled up to the maximum payment of £570 per academic year.
Each Local Authority will have a process for the Early Years settings located within its area, to claim Early Years Pupil Premium for all children who attract this funding. This will include all children who attend their setting who are in the care of a Local Authority.
The Virtual School Head is responsible for monitoring and maintaining oversight of how Early Years Pupil Premium is being spent to ensure it is effectively supporting children to meet their PEP targets. If funding is being used to purchase resources, Early Years settings will be asked to provide information within the child’s PEP about when the item was bought and given to the child. The setting will also be asked to upload an invoice for each item purchased into the documents section of the child’s electronic Personal Education Plan (ePEP), to ensure a clear audit trail.
The team of Manchester Virtual School PEP Quality Assurance Teachers read every child’s PEP each term and provide written feedback to their Designated Teacher and Social Worker.
Pupil Premium for looked after children aged 16 and 17, in Post 16 Provision -
The Department for Education (DfE) has made Pupil Premium Plus funding available to Local Authorities to support the education, employment and training of looked after young people aged 16 and 17 who have left school. Young people, aged 16 and 17 in the care of Manchester City Council, who are in Year 12 and 13 and who are attending Post 16 education, employment and training can access up to £400 Pupil Premium Plus funding per academic year through the termly PEP process.
To ensure this funding is being used effectively to support each young person, its release is dependent upon the completion of a high-quality termly Personal Education Plan (PEP). Allocation of the funding must be linked to the young person’s SMART targets within their PEP.
Manchester Virtual School will request detailed information from the Designated Teacher and Social worker within the young person’s PEP about on how the funding is to be spent, total costs, and the intended impact. They will also be asked to upload an invoice for each item purchased to the documents section within the young person’s electronic Personal Education Plan (ePEP), to ensure a clear audit trail.
Please see the Pupil Premium FAQs tab for more information about Pupil Premium Plus and what it can be used for.
Children and Young People with SEND
A significant number of children and young people in the care of Manchester experience some kind of special educational need or disability (SEND), including social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. The Manchester Virtual School Team works proactively with Designated Teachers and Social Workers to support these children and young people through the PEP process and use of our Virtual School Educational Psychology consultation offer.
Where the young person’s needs are presenting a significant and sustained barrier to them attending their education setting, making expected progress, or putting them at risk of exclusion, the Virtual School will strongly encourage the education setting to seek support and advice from their own Educational Psychologist about positive approaches to supporting the young person. In some cases it may be appropriate, to request statutory assessment to potentially secure an Education Health and Care Plan.
Where a young person who already has an EHCP is experiencing difficulties with attending and making progress, the Virtual School will advise the Designated Teacher and Social Worker to ensure the young person’s EHCP is reviewed to consider any changes to their support needs and the provision they require.
Supporting Children with Transition
For children and young people moving to new education settings, including through an and in-year move, from preschool to Reception, Year 6 to Year 7, and Year 11 to Post 16 provision, the Virtual School encourages all settings to include robust transition planning within the PEP. Pupil Premium Plus can be used to support the young person’s transition. Any resources purchased for the young person should remain in their possession when they move to their new setting.
The Designated Teacher should provide information within the child’s PEP about when the item was bought and given to the young person. They should also upload an invoice for each item purchased to the documents section of the young person’s electronic Personal Education Plan (ePEP), to ensure a clear audit trail.