Management Information Sheet
Post 16 Pupil Premium Plus request guidance 2024-25
The DfE has extended Post 16 Pupil Premium Plus (PP+) style funding for the 2024-25 financial year. It is intended that the funding will be used to improve education outcomes, in particular the attendance, retention, and attainment of this cohort at Post 16, and enable them to have sustained involvement in employment, education, and training.
Please note that there is no automatic allocation of Post 16 PP+ to settings. The funding is managed by the Virtual School Head (VSH) and must be used to improve educational outcomes by providing support at an individual or cohort level.
Funding requests for individual young people
Requests for Post 16 PP+ for individual young people should be made in the 'Outcomes' section of the PEP on Welfare Call. Any requests will need to evidence how the funding will be used to support SMART outcomes.
The amount of funding available at Post 16 is significantly less than for statutory school age and so we must prioritise any individual requests that support academic outcomes. Most young people in Post 16 education will not need any Post 16 PP+ as their education and learning needs will be met by the universal support that is available in their setting and they can access the Post 16 Bursary.
Staff within the Virtual School Post 16 Team will use their discretion to approve requests of up to £300 per term where there is a clear link to an academic target/intervention, which is evidenced via a SMART Outcome. For any requests above £300 the decision will be made by the Post 16 Lead (Clare Cloves).
With regards to evidence of spend, where the funding has been agreed for an individual young person, we would expect to see the outcome reviewed at the next PEP.
Post 16 PP+ should not be used to fund anything that is already funded (or should be funded) from elsewhere, eg Post 16 Bursary, SEN funding or Social Care.
We are not an education provider and are not able to substitute publicly available funds drawn down from the DfE.
Post 16 PP+ should not fund the following:
- Transport, meals, uniform (signpost to the Post 16 Bursary)
- Laptops (signpost to the Digital Inclusion Scheme)
- Hobbies/Interests/School Trips (signpost to the Inspiring Opportunities Fund)
For educational trips the Virtual School may consider paying a small contribution from Post 16 PP+ if there is a clear link to the course they are studying and a link to a SMART outcome within the PEP.
Funding requests for cohorts
Requests for cohort funding should still come via the exceptional funding request form, which is available from your Virtual School Adviser. We will take into account the number of young people in care/care leavers on roll when considering a cohort request from a setting.
Where we have agreed cohort funding and it is not recorded on individual PEPs, a Virtual School Adviser might have a follow up conversation regarding the intervention and evidence of impact. We expect that settings will use the funding for the purpose for which it has been agreed and would expect to be informed if the intervention is unable to go ahead, or has gone ahead at a lower cost, so that we can discuss the funding position and recoup costs. We reserve the right to recoup funding if it is not being used to support young people in care.
Any requests made via Welfare Call that are approved or partly approved will be tracked by Clare Farrant (Pupil Premium Manager) and payments will be made to settings as part of their regular monthly payments.
For any general queries regarding Post 16 PP+ please contact clare.cloves@norfolk.gov.uk.
For any UASC specific queries please contact laura.abbro@norfolk.gov.uk.
You can also find out more on our Virtual school for children in care and previously in care website (www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/virtualschoolcic).