Monday 14th July 2025
1730 - 1900
The Centre for Social Justice
Kings Buildings, 16 Square
Westminster, SW1P 3HQ
Panellists include:
Sir , lead non-executive board
member at the Department for Education
Sir Trevor Phillips OBE, broadcaster and former EHRC Chair
Professor Lee Elliot Major OBE, UK's first Social Mobility
Professor and co-creator of Pupil Premium Toolkit
Emma Bonnin, Headteacher of Pakeman Primary
School.
The pupil premium has been a cornerstone of education policy for
over a decade. But new CSJ analysis (due to be published on
Sunday 13th July) on the most recent academic data paints a
startling picture. Despite tens of billions of pounds being
invested in schools through the pupil premium to raise
attainment, outcomes for disadvantaged pupils remain deeply
uneven. Post-Covid trends are alarming and geographically
inconsistent; and a large number of schools are seeing the
attainment gap widen. The current eligibility system for pupil
premium also fails – now more than ever – to reliably identify
the children most in need of support.
The recent Spending Review promised billions for schools – from
expanding free school meals to funding nurseries and rebuilding
infrastructure. But these pledges do not address the scale of the
attainment crisis facing disadvantaged pupils. This panel brings
together leaders from education, politics, and the media to ask:
is the pupil premium fit for purpose? Does it need radical
reform? And are schools still the right place to direct this
funding?
