For any post-LAC (i.e. adopted in England or Wales, subject to an SGO/child arrangements order/residence order) child from reception to year 11, the school will receive Post-LAC funding from central Government. Those adopted outside of England and Wales are not eligible.
In order for the school to receive this money, you will have had to inform the school that your child is previously looked-after and supplied satisfactory evidence. The school will then record this information on the January school census and receive the funding in the following financial year.
This can sound complicated and some schools say they cannot support the child because they haven't yet received the funding. However, the money will arrive to the school and the lagged funding should not be used as a reason to deny a child support. We can advise schools about lagged funding too if needed.
It is worth checking with your school that they have recorded the child as previously looked-after on the census, however, as they will not receive the money otherwise.
For the financial year 2019 to 2020, the Post-LAC pupil premium is £2,300 for each child.
The money is not a personal budget for individual children, nor is it ring fenced. The school should spend the money how it sees fit for the benefit of the Post-LAC cohort. The Northamptonshire Virtual School advise schools that it is best practice to involve parents in expenditure decisions given the additional needs of previously looked-after children.
The Education Endowment Foundation is a charity that provides a user-friendly toolkit showing what interventions tend to work in promoting learning and their approximate cost: