14.05.12
Pupil premium to ‘close the gap’ in schools
A £10,000 prize is to be proposed for schools who find the best way of spending the pupil premium, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is set to announce. Additional cash awards will also be available for 50 schools as an incentive to boost social mobility.
Other proposals include funding £500 per pupil for summer schools between primary and secondary schools and incentives for teachers to work in schools with more disadvantaged pupils.
The pupil premium – one of Clegg’s flagship policies – is an additional sum of money paid to schools for each child receiving free school meals. This year it is £600 per pupil and is not ringfenced.
Clegg is set to say: “We’ve made the case for the pupil premium. We’ve won the battle to get it properly funded. Today I want to talk about how we make it a success because we now have a once-in-a-generation chance.
“Get this right and we make good on education’s progressive promise: to give every child the chance to go as far as their abilities and effort can carry them. And we’ll achieve something else of lasting importance: we’ll prove that teachers do best whenWhitehallsteps out of the way.
“To that end, I want to strike a deal between the Coalition Government and our schools and teachers. We’ll give you the cash; we’ll give you the freedom; we’ll reward and celebrate your success.
“But in return, we want you to redouble your efforts to closing the gap between your poorer pupils and everyone else. We won’t be telling you what to do, but we will be watching what you achieve.”
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