1. Introduction

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following national advice and guidance documents: 

1. Pupil premium: overview - GOV.UK
2. Using pupil premium guidance for school leaders
3. The EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium | EEF
4. Pupil premium: virtual school heads’ responsibilities - GOV.UK

This policy refers to Pupil Premium Plus Grant for children who are looked after by Milton Keynes Council, referred to as CLA. Throughout the policy, the Pupil Premium Plus Grant for CLA will be referred to as Pupil Premium Plus to distinguish it from other forms of Pupil Premium allocations, which fall outside this policy.

2. Key areas to note regarding the use of Pupil Premium Plus

• The Virtual School Head is responsible for the use of Pupil Premium Plus to improve outcomes for all children in the care of Milton Keynes City Council, wherever they live.
• It is the responsibility of the Virtual School Head, in consultation with the child’s educational setting, to ensure that Pupil Premium Plus is used to support those children’s educational needs in accordance with their Personal Education Plans.
• We recognise that the school in which the child is educated is best placed to hold and spend most of the funds. However, there is some work that will be best carried out or organised by the Virtual School, therefore some funds will be retained for this purpose.
• Milton Keynes City Council and the Virtual School team are corporate parents, so the question ‘would this be good enough for my child?’ is a central one in making decisions and evaluating the effectiveness of the use of Pupil Premium Plus.
• Pupil Premium should not be used to fund services that the local authority is responsible for funding, such as support for foster carers, school uniforms or transport to get the child to school.
• Pupil Premium Plus is not a personal budget for individual children, however schools and education providers who choose to pool Pupil Premium Plus need to demonstrate clearly how each CLA is benefitting from this funding in line with their Personal Education Plans.

2.1. How and why might the amount of Pupil Premium Plus vary?

• We appreciate that children’s needs are individual and the need for additional resources can vary at different times. Milton Keynes Virtual School have a child centred approach and therefore it may be possible to negotiate funding depending on needs and in discussion with the Virtual School Head.
• For some children Pupil Premium Plus allocation is only a fraction of the cost of the support they need e.g.:
  • Children who come into care in an emergency with a fragmented home and education history and who are behind academically. 
  • Children where there is a significant impact from trauma and/ or unmet attachment needs, which manifests in hard to anticipate behavioural presentation.

2.2. Circumstances in which Pupil Premium Plus will not be provided

Pupil Premium Plus will not be used to double fund or replace funding which should already have been allocated to the school to support the child and specifically:

• To fund support that should be provided via an EHC plan.
• To fund support for those on SEND support plans where this support should be provided through the school’s SEND notional budget. 
• Other statutory work e.g., statutory assessment or support from Health. 
• Where the interventions put in place do not require any funding. 
• Where the school’s own funding covers the cost of the interventions. 
• When the PEP does not meet requirements (see section 3.1).

3. Accountability and Process

The Virtual School Head is accountable to the Head of Service for Education Outcomes, Corporate Parenting Panel, Virtual School Governing Board and Director of Children’s Services for setting up a transparent and rigorous allocation process and ensuring maximised impact of the Pupil Premium Plus grant funding.

3.1 Personal Education Plans (PEPs)

• Pupil Premium Plus will be paid to schools in two payments linked to two Core PEPs per financial year. PEPs are a statutory requirement and the joint responsibility of the school/ education provider, social worker and Virtual School.
• PEPs are undertaken termly with two PEPs per year undertaken as Core PEPs and one as a Review (lighter touch) PEP. The order of these will depend on the child’s needs, year group and education setting in negotiation with the Virtual School.
• Requests for Pupil Premium Plus funding will be made on Section 2 of the Core PEP through the Milton Keynes Professional Portal.
• Requests will detail how funding will be used for the benefit of the child and provide details of costings; these will be linked to clear SMART targets.
• Pupil Premium requests will be approved by the VSH and/or Deputy VSH using the following criteria:
  • The PEP is high quality
  • Funding use links directly to the needs of the individual child and is underpinned by well informed and targeted support
  • Clear SMART targets are in place to monitor progress and the impact of Pupil Premium Plus use
• Up to £1900 will be paid across the financial year 2026/2027, usually in two payments of £950, linked to each Core PEP.
• Pupil Premium Plus use should be ambitious and aspirational and should focus on targeted academic support as well as wider strategies which may impact on academic progress – such as attendance, behaviour, social skills, wellbeing, emotional support, promoting inclusion (by reducing internal and external suspension) and supporting transition into the next key stage and/or a new learning provider.

3.2. When one of the conditions for allocation of funding is not met, the Virtual School will discuss how the school can resolve the issue and work with the Designated Teacher to identify actions required. If this cannot be resolved, the Virtual School has the right to use the funds to allocate necessary provision for the child and not allocate the money to the school.

3.3. Allocation of funding and recoupment policy to Maintained Schools, Academies, Free Schools and Milton Keynes Alternative Provision

• The Pupil Premium Grant will be transferred following each Core PEP, if conditions outlined in 3.1. are met.
• The standard amount will be a maximum of £950 per PEP. This could be less if the CLA has been in care for less than half a term or been in the school for less than half a term.
• Further amounts can be requested by the school by contacting the Virtual School Head. It will need to be demonstrated that there is extreme need and that all other forms of support have been exhausted. Approval of further amounts is not guaranteed.
• Where there is a need to clarify what funding a school is providing from its own resources, the school may need to provide evidence before Pupil Premium Plus can be allocated.
• Interventions may continue to be funded by Pupil Premium Plus but only on review of the impact during the subsequent PEP meeting. It should not be assumed that Pupil Premium Plus will continue to fund interventions without this review.
• The Virtual School reserve the right to recoup the funding if there is evidence that the funding is not being used to address the child’s needs.

3.4. Allocation of grant to Residential providers and recoupment policy

• We will provide extra funding to independent providers on a case-by-case basis and only in exceptional circumstances, as these are already funded at a high level by central budgets.
• The Pupil Premium Plus allocation will have to be approved by the Virtual School Head following discussions during the PEP process.
• Pupil Premium Plus will be paid following each Core PEP, if conditions outlined in 3.1. are met, via BACS system; BACS details via a Vendor Form will be required prior to payment.
• We reserve the right to recoup the funding if there is evidence that the funding is not being used to address the CLA’s needs.

4. Pupil Premium Plus for Children and Young People from other Local Authorities

Different approaches will be adopted by different Local Authorities. Schools in Milton Keynes who have CLA from other Local Authorities on their roll must contact the relevant Virtual School to request their Pupil Premium Plus policy. The name and contact details of other Virtual School Heads can be requested from the Milton Keynes Virtual School team.