The coalition government announced on Monday 13th December that every school in the country will receive an extra £430 for each pupil who is on free school meals or is looked after by their local authority. This means Luton schools will share £3,162,500 from April 2011.

“The Pupil Premium, targeted at children from low income families, was a key Liberal Democrat input into the coalition agreement and I am delighted it is now a reality” says David Franks, Liberal Democrat opposition leader on Luton Council.

“There is a clear and well established connection between entitlement to free school meals and underachieving,”

“Now every headteacher in Luton can now work out how much their school will get and what is the best way to invest it in our children’s future.”

“By helping some of the most disadvantaged children, we can help whole classes work together better and move forward faster. This is great news for children, parents and teachers alike.”

“The government will not dictate how the extra money is spent, so long as it is concentrated on disadvantaged children. So schools could spend it on extra staff, on one to one tuition or whatever they decide will be most effective.”

The total cost for the financial year starting in April is £625M and this amount will increase each year until by 2014 it will be £2.5bn. a year.