According to the Department for Education the increase in funding from £430 to £488 per pupil is due to fewer than expected children registering for free school meals this year, which makes them eligible for the pupil premium.
Children who have been in care for more than six months also qualify for the pupil premium, as do children whose parents are serving in the armed forces who who will continue to receive £200 each.
The pupil premium is intended to help schools close the gap between the attainment of children from low-income families and their peers, for example, by providing one-to-one tuition or reducing class sizes.
News of the additional funding comes after ministers announced last month that the total funding available for the Pupil Premium in 2012-13 will rise from £625m to £1.2 billion, double the amount of funding in 2011-12.
Children’s minister Sarah Teather said, ‘The pupil premium will benefit poorer pupils, providing extra money directly for those pupils who need it the most.
‘We know that just 27 per cent of pupils on free school meals get five good GCSE grades compared with 54 per cent of non-free school meal pupils. This extra funding will help tackle this inequality and enable schools to provide the extra support they need to reach their full potential.’
