The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) shares new research of school Pupil Premium statements as supporting guidance for Pupil Premium spending.
Research and communications agencey, Verian, has completed a new analysis of 1,255 published Pupil Premium strategy statements from schools across England. The focus was to discover the key barriers to attainment for disadvantaged pupils. The EEF has shared this alongside its updated, Guide to the Pupil Premium, a digital resource designed to help schools maximise the impact of their Pupil Premium spending.
Currently 24% of primary and secondary pupils (around 2.2. million pupils) in England are eligible for Pupil Premium funding. The Education Policy Institute reports the attainment gap between those from low socio-economic backgrounds and their peers is ‘4.7 months by the end of reception and 19.1 months by the end of secondary school’, so you can see why Pupil Premium funding is important and why schools want to ensure they are using it in the best way to maximise the impact of the support they provide. 1
What are the biggest barriers?
There were three main barriers identified in the analysis of schools’ Pupil Premium statements:
- 83% cited challenges linked to literacy attainment
- 78% highlighted attendance issues
- 74% identified Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and wellbeing as key barriers to learning. 1
How can schools overcome these?
The updated EEF guidance hopes to help schools make the most of their Pupil Premium funding and tackle the barriers identified. In fact, 92% schools already shared in the analysis from Verian that they ‘referenced EEF evidence – such as this guide – in shaping their Pupil Premium approach’. 1
The guide encourages schools to focus their spending on Pupil Premium in thee key areas:
- High-quality teaching – Investing in CPD, mentoring etc. to support teacher knowledge and expertise.
- Targeted academic support – This could include tutoring programmes, structured interventions etc. that meet the individual needs of eligible pupils. Examples are highlighted in the EEF’s Promising Programmes.
- Wider strategies – Strategies/interventions, like providing transport or extra-curricular activities, that address non-academic barriers such as low attendance rates. 1
References
- Education Endowment Foundation (2025) ‘Schools identify low literacy skills and poor attendance as the biggest challenges to disadvantaged pupils’ attainment’. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/biggest-challenges-to-disadvantaged-pupils-attainmentcrelm/documents/sustainable-school-leadership.pdf (Accessed: 22 September 2025)
