Should the Pupil Premium be extended to EY settings?

[Simona]

I wonder if anyone agrees that it would be very effective if the PP was also given to children who attend EY settings especially now that the Progress check at 2 can flag up worries detected at that age?

Surely the best way to tackle under achievement is to prevent it before children reach school who then have to intervene?
Or is that too simplistic?

https://www.pre-school.org.uk/sectornews/62/government-needs-clear-early-years-plan-says-advisory-body

[singingcactus]

It would only be effective if it was spent to improve outcomes for the target children. All too often pp and other funding gets spent in the wrong ways, and places leaving the target kids still under achieving. Throwing money at a problem is too simplistic!

[Simona]

It would only be effective if it was spent to improve outcomes for the target children. All too often pp and other funding gets spent in the wrong ways, and places leaving the target kids still under achieving. Throwing money at a problem is too simplistic!

I understand that PP in schools is spent at the discretion of the school but does it actually work...does it improve outcomes?
How do you think it could be spent to target those children in need? how should it be distributed fairly and with accountability?

[singingcactus]

No it doesn't work. Schools generally just see the see extra income as just that, extra cash. They don't use it to the support the children it is intended to support, they just add it to the general pot.
It is very rare you find a school that draws pp for service kids actually having things in place to support these highly mobile, often disrupted kids, or that even have policies in place to make life gentler for these kids. Many schools actually have policies in place that result in the kids they get pp for being discriminated against.
Money is just money, there needs to be a more unified approach to making things better for the target kids. A central government controlled approach. Accountability is needed if the governments are to continue to just use money as a fix all.

[Donkey]

schools do not use it to support the child.............

my dd got FSM for 8 months due to tax credits deciding £2000 of our income did not matter (due to income drop) school got pupil premium.... our DD did not get anything extra!