Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on the allocation of Pupil Premium and free school meals funding for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans who are educated or supported through alternative provision or external programmes; and whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements to ensure that organisations delivering educational or support programmes to such pupils receive appropriate funding where schools continue to receive Pupil Premium funding despite the pupil not regularly attending the school.

The department publishes guidance setting out the funding arrangements for Pupil Premium, free school meals (FSM) and alternative provision.

Pupil premium allocations are calculated using census data on FSM eligibility over the last six years. Schools and alternative provision providers are responsible for deciding how to use this funding, in accordance with the conditions of the grant, to improve outcomes for their disadvantaged pupils, including pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans.

For pupils with EHC plans in alternative provision who are eligible for FSMs, funding is provided through local authority funding arrangements within the high needs funding system. Under the FSM expansion grant for 2026/27, local authorities will receive additional funding for eligible pupils in special and alternative provision settings, which should be passed on where providers incur additional meal costs.

Where a pupil is educated or supported through alternative provision, the funding arrangements depend on the nature of the placement and the body it was commissioned by. The department's statutory guidance on arranging alternative provision sets out the respective responsibilities of local authorities and schools, including the role of the pupil's home school where the pupil remains on its roll.