The Premium is currently worth £900 per eligible student but will rise again next year as the overall funding for the policy reaches
£2.5 billion. It comes alongside the rise for primary pupils from £900 to £1,300, which had already been confirmed by ministers.
The Pupil Premium is targeted at any child in receipt of free school meals, children who have received free school meals at any point in the past six years, as well as eligible children in care.
The government also recently unveiled its new Pupil Premium Plus, a £1,900 payment that is to be allocated to any looked-after or adopted child. This comes into force in April 2014.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, welcomed the increase, but sounded a warning to ministers.
She said: “This increase will not make up for the cuts to the local authority services which support families, nor compensate for the loss of jobs and benefits which are pushing so many families to food banks. Teachers and leaders will continue to do everything they can to help pupils do well at school, but the scale of the challenge keeps increasing.”
For more information from the Department for Education on the Pupil Premium, visit www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium