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Anger over Pupil Premium admin change that is costing schools millions

Schools nationwide will lose out on an estimated £133m in Pupil Premium funding due to the DfE's recent administrative change – with new figures showing North East schools alone face a loss of up to £7.3m. Pete Henshaw takes a look


More schools are reporting huge potential losses in funding – amounting to millions of pounds – due to an “administrative change” in the way Pupil Premium is being allocated.

A new analysis estimates that the move will cost schools in the North East of England between £5.2m and £7.3m.

The seemingly innocuous change has seen the Department for Education (DfE) move to using October 2020 census data – and not the usual January census – to decide on Pupil Premium eligibility.

It means that any children who have become “eligible” between October and January will not attract Pupil Premium funding from April 2021. Instead they will have to wait a year.

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