At Catshill Middle School, we firmly believe that every student deserves equal access to a wide range of experiences that help them grow, strengthen their skills, boost their confidence and resilience, and prepare them for a happy, successful life after leaving our school. Our aim is to ensure that all students — regardless of their social or financial background — flourish and uphold our core value of aspiration.

The government allocates additional money to our school called ‘Pupil Premium’ to help us improve the outcomes for students so that they do the best they possibly can.  Pupil Premium funding is allocated to the school based upon the number of:

• Children in receipt of free school meals (and those who have been eligible in the last 6 years).

• Looked after and previously looked after children: by an English local authority, or who left the care of a local authority in England or Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order, or a residence order.

• Service children: recorded as having a parent serving in the regular armed forces in any school census in the last six years. It is also paid in respect of children in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme.

For the financial year 2025-2026, the Pupil Premium funding that schools receive is:

	KS2	KS3
Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years	£1,515  per student	£1,075 per student
Looked after and previously looked after children	£2,630 per student	£2,630 per student
Service children	£350 per student	£350 per student

 

Some examples of how the funding is used would include:  additional staffing in maths and English to reduce class sizes, support with curriculum resources, support with curriculum based trips and support with extra-curricular activities. To see a breakdown of our Pupil Premium spending and plan, please follow the link at the bottom of this page.

For a student to attract Pupil Premium funding, their parent or carer must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit and a request must have been made for free school meals.

Free School Meals

If you are unsure whether your son/daughter is entitled to free school meals funding, then the guide below will help. Your son/daughter may be able to receive free school meals if you receive any of the following:

• Universal Credit, and your annual household income is £7,400 per annum (£616 per month) or less after tax, and not including any benefits

• Income Support

• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance

• Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act, 1999

• Child Tax Credit, provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual income is less than £16,190, as assessed by HMRC

• Guaranteed Pension Credit

• Income-based Employment and Support Allowance

• Working Tax Credit run-on paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

If you are still unsure, or would like to know more about if your son/daughter qualifies for free school meals then please follow the link below. From here you will be able to check eligibility and complete the application online:

Worcestershire apply for free school meals

Registering your son/daughter for free school meals will not affect any of the benefits that you may be claiming.

We would like to encourage parents/carers to apply for free school meals. This is because it not only provides our students with a lunch time meal, but it also supports our school to fund additional curricular opportunities and more targeted support for our Pupil Premium students.

Further information can be found by contacting the Worcestershire Free School Meals Team on 01905 845280

If you need any further information or support, please contact the school and Mrs Baker will be able to support you.

Please see our full Pupil Premium Plan below: