Pupil Premium Plus funding for Looked After Children - reminder of funding process

PP+ funding is intended to improve educational outcomes for looked after children, by helping deliver the outcomes identified in their Personal Education Plan.

There is evidence that PP+ is most effective when used across 3 areas identified in the DfE's Menu of Approaches. We expect schools to prioritise these, in accordance with needs identified in a young person's PEP:

1.     High-quality teaching, such as staff professional development.
2.     Targeted academic support, such as tutoring.
3.     Wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools, such as attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional support.

Any activity funded by PP+ must fall under one of these approaches.

Local Authority funded schools and academies

·       Schools will be allocated the PP+ spend recorded against PEP outcomes, up to a maximum of £600 per term, upon completion and sign off of the PEP by the Virtual School. If no spend is recorded, no funding will be allocated. It should be clear from the PEP exactly how the funding is being spent and how it has been calculated - it is not enough to simply record £600 against an outcome.

Independent schools and Alternative Providers

• Funding will only be paid to these settings in exceptional circumstances as the provision required by pupils is agreed at the time of placement and already paid in full by Norfolk County Council. Exceptional circumstances are identified through the young person's needs and identified support and are in addition to what the setting would reasonably be expected to provide.

Exceptional funding request process

• If a requirement for funding in excess of £600 per term is identified for any young person, settings should discuss their request with their Virtual School Adviserinitially, then record the PEP outcome with the proposed PP+ spend on whichever PEP is currently live on Welfare Call.
• The level of need and reason for the request should be clear from the PEP outcome, so that decisions can be made without needing to request further information from school. We need to see planned dates for when the intervention will take place and an exit strategy for how it will be withdrawn. Further information can be added to box 2 on the Outcomes tab 'How is the curriculum being personalised', to support the request. Documents can be uploaded to the PEP but should be signposted within the PEP outcome.
• Requests should be made before an intervention is put in placeas the funding is never guaranteed and retrospective applications may be refused.
• This process applies to all funding requests from Independent and alternative provision settings.
• Schools should always consider and apply for other available funding streams where they are available (e.g. SEN funding) before requesting exceptional PP+ funding. PP+ should not be used to replace other available funding.
• Exceptional funding will be agreed for a fixed period. We expect to see evidence of impact if an application for repeat funding is made.
• All exceptional funding requests will be considered weekly and schools will be notified of the outcome by email or can check the PEP record to see if funding has been approved.
• There are some requests for which exceptional funding won't be agreed -see FAQs within the Pupil Premium section on our website.

Timing of applications for exceptional funding

• Applications should always be made before an intervention is put in place.
• Requests for funding for term-long interventions, such as 1:1 support for a term, should be made well before the end of the preceding term, to allow us time to consider the request and communicate the outcome.
• Retrospective applications may be refused.

General information

•  PP+ funding is intended to provide additional support. It is not emergency funding and should not meet costs which should be funded elsewhere. This includes the entitlement set out in the SEND code of practice: 0-25 years,published in June 2014.
• It is a DfE requirement and an OFSTED expectation that schools evidence how the pupil premium is spent and how it benefits looked after children. Schools must ensure that every PEP includes SMART targets, details of how all PP+ funding has been used and clear evidence of impact on children's achievement.
• An invoice will be requested from independent and out of county schools to transfer PP+ funding. If an invoice is not provided by the specified deadline, it will be assumed that it is no longer required and the funding will be reallocated. Schools will not be chased for invoices.
• In all cases we reserve the right to recoup the funding if it is not being used to address the specific needs of the young
• If you need help recording PP+ spend on the PEP, please contact your Virtual School Adviser, our PEP Manager, Julie Steward, or Pupil Premium Manager, Clare Farrant.

01603 307769  clare.farrant@norfolk.gov.uk

You can also find out more on our website 

See below for a pdf version of this information.

Pupil Premium Plus Grant for Looked After Children Guidance 2024-25 Financial Year (PDF) [219KB]