Sandy 4 St Albans » pupil premium

Encouraging those entitled to free school meals to register so as to maximise their school’s pupil premium

sandy — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:15:26 +0000

I was very interested to receive today a letter from my daughter’s head teacher about the Pupil Premium – the Liberal Democrat initiative to target specific extra money at schools according to the number of pupils they have from less well off families. This has already resulted in an extra £800,000 for St Albans schools in this financial year and the amount will further increase on an annual basis going forward. My picture shows Lib Dem education minister Sarah Teather handing over a notional cheque to a bunch of St Albans people.

In his letter, the head teacher writes about the importance of those eligible for free school meals taking up their entitlement since this is the measure used for calculating a school’s apportionment of the pupil premium:

This is a substantial top-up amount targeted at closing the attainment gap that exists between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. The amount that any school receives will depend on the number of pupils that it has who are eligible for Free School Meals.

This funding formula makes it more important than ever that we have accurate information with respect to Free School Meals eligibility and that all those who are entitled to this benefit, claim it. At a time of economic stringency when a great many people may be losing their jobs and income, we are very conscious that some parents may not be doing so. If this applies to your family, I would urge you to reconsider. The administration of Free School Meals through our cashless catering system means that pupils receiving the benefit run no risk of embarrassment. Moreover, the incentive to claim the benefit is now much greater since the pupil premium can be used to offset the cost of trips, resources and even tuition. Your son or daughter will be missing out on many potential benefits if they have an entitlement that is not taken up.

For clarification, children whose parents are in receipt of the following are entitled to receive Free School Meals:

• Income Support (IS)
• Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA)
• 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 from 6 April 2011
which does not exceed the threshold of £16,190
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit.

So there is a double whammy of encouraging the parents or guardians of all children who qualify to claim for free school meals and of maximising extra budget for the most deserving schools.

Astonishingly I read that the Manchester Labour Party – where the additional funding attributable to the pupiul premium is £11 million, has condemned the policy as a “sham”. I guess it’s just about understandable (if cynical) that Labour opposes each and every cut that the government is having to make, but it really is utterly bizarre that, in Manchester at least, they are opposing substantial increases in education funding for disadvantaged children.

1,600 local residents stop being liable to income tax – 63,000 to pay less

sandy — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:06:30 +0000

Today is the start of the new tax year when tax codes change. The top priority of the Liberal Democrat manifesto of 2010 was to reduce the burden of tax on those on low incomes. We regarded it as absurd that even the minimum wage was subject to tax under Labour policies, and we argued that a better and fairer starting income for paying income tax should be £10,000 per year.

The first two Coalition budgets have made substantial progress in delivering this promise. Since the election and including the measures announced in last week’s budget, 1,140,000 people (yes, that’s right, more than one million) will no longer have to pay tax on their income compared with under Labour, while nearly 25 million people will be paying less.

In St Albans district, approximately 1,600 people will be taken out of income tax, and 63,000 will be paying less.

It’s a policy which has gone from the front page of the Liberal Democrat manifesto and into people’s pockets.

There has also been real progress in delivering the three other core pledges – on the pupil premium targeting money on children on free school meals, creating a green and sustainable economy, and helping deliver fundamental political reform by giving everyone a vote on the Alternative Vote in next month’s referendum.

What hope if you can’t even write your name?

sandy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:56:58 +0000

I was profoundly depressed to see that the Government’s own figures show that almost a third of boys from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot write their own name after a year at primary school. The increasing lack of social mobility in the UK is very concerning. These figures show that the gap between poorer children and the better-off is clear when they are only five years old.

It makes me more than ever convinced that our policy of paying a pupil premium (incidentally a LibDem idea now copied by the Conservatives) to schools targeted specifically at children from the least privileged backgrounds must be right. A far better and fairer use of money in the crucial early years than Labour’s absurd Child Trust Fund.

PS Incidentally I am currently reading Chris Mullin’s “The View from the Foothills”. As well as giving fascinating insight into the period when Mr Blair took us to war, his descriptions of his Sunderland constituency and the lack of any ambition from many parents for their children illustrates the challenge we face if we are to start closing a gap which has widened under both Conservatives and Labour ever since Mrs Thatcher.