Pupil premium boost

Almost £4million will be handed to Rochdale borough’s schools to help disadvantaged pupils.

Schools were set to receive £430 for each pupil eligible for free school meals, but after a lower than expected take up the cash has increased by £58 per pupil. It means Rochdale will receive £3.998million.

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.”

Balderstone and Kirkholt Councillor Dale Mulgrew, said: “It is shocking that, nationally, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are three times less likely to achieve five good GSCEs than their more well-off classmates.

“That is why Liberal Democrats nationally have ensured that there is extra money to finally reverse this worrying trend that was allowed to continue under the previous government. This is clear identifiable evidence of how the Liberal Democrats are starting to break the link, school by school, community by community, between poverty and achievement that has dogged Rochdale’s education system for so long”

Councillor Pat Colclough, added: “This is great news for the schools in my ward. For example, I know that Kingsway Park High School has received over £260,000 extra due to the Pupil Premium. We now look forward to working with our schools to help overcome the barriers to achievement that some of the pupils in our community currently face.”

Schools receive this additional funding on top of the existing school budget.

Schools can spend the money in a way they believe best supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds in their classes.

Children who have been looked after by local authorities for more than six months also qualify for the premium.