Your Pupil Premium strategy statement: what to publish and when

Schools that receive Pupil Premium funding must publish a strategy statement on their website showing how the funding will be used and what impact last year's spending had. The DfE provides a template that schools are required to use, and sets the publication deadline each year. It is currently 31 December.

What the statement covers

The DfE template asks schools to set out:

• the school's overview: number of pupils, the proportion eligible, the funding allocation and the years the strategy covers;
• the key challenges eligible pupils face in the school;
• the intended outcomes, with clear success criteria;
• the activities the funding will pay for, with the evidence behind each one;
• a review of the outcomes in the previous academic year.

Strategies can run for up to three years, updated each year, which helps schools commit to approaches long enough to see their impact.

A tiered approach

The DfE expects schools to use evidence when choosing how to spend the funding, and many follow the tiered approach recommended by the Education Endowment Foundation:

1. High-quality teaching: usually the largest share, because it benefits every pupil, including those who are disadvantaged.
2. Targeted academic support: for example structured tutoring or small-group interventions linked to identified needs.
3. Wider strategies: addressing barriers such as attendance, behaviour and wellbeing.

Showing impact

The review of last year's outcomes is where many statements are weakest. Inspectors and governors want to see whether disadvantaged pupils are doing better as a result of the spending. Strong statements:

• compare eligible pupils with their peers on attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour;
• link each activity to the challenge and outcome it was meant to address;
• are honest about what did not work, and explain what will change.

Monitoring through the year makes this much easier. Rating each activity termly against agreed criteria means the annual review becomes a summary of evidence you already have, rather than a scramble in the autumn.

Pupils with SEND

Many pupils eligible for Pupil Premium also have SEND. The funding is not intended to replace SEN provision, but well-chosen activities often serve both, for example speech and language support, whole-school intervention programmes or attendance mentoring. Make the link explicit in your statement so the overlap is clear.

A worked example

One school's statement listed twelve activities with little to connect them. For the new strategy, leaders started from three challenges: low attendance among eligible pupils, weaker oral language on entry, and fewer opportunities beyond the classroom. Every activity was then linked to one of those challenges, with a success measure and a termly rating. The impact review a year later was shorter, clearer and much easier for governors to question.

Common pitfalls

• Too many activities. Fewer, well-chosen activities are easier to deliver and evaluate.
• No link to evidence. Each activity should say why the school expects it to work.
• An impact review written from memory. Termly monitoring makes it accurate.

Quick checklist

• The statement uses the current DfE template and is published by the DfE deadline.
• Each activity is linked to a named challenge and an intended outcome.
• The evidence for each activity is stated.
• Activities are monitored termly, not only at the end of the year.
• The impact review compares eligible pupils with their peers and is honest about what to change.

Sources

• Pupil premium: overview (DfE)
• Using your pupil premium funding effectively (Education Endowment Foundation)

General guidance for school staff, last reviewed 31 October 2026. Statutory guidance changes, so always check the latest version on GOV.UK.