Ofsted inspection: pupil premium spending

Understand how Ofsted will inspect your school's use of the pupil premium. Doing so won't just prepare you for inspection, but will also inform your strategic plans, as well as how you monitor and challenge the effectiveness of your pupil premium spending.

Last reviewed on 3 December 2025See updates
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 4599
Contents
  1. Understand your role in the inspection of pupil premium spending
  2. Pupil premium affects the 'inclusion' evaluation area
  3. Know how inspectors will gather evidence

Understand your role in the inspection of pupil premium spending

Monitoring the use of pupil premium funds is part of your governing board's core function to oversee financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent. 

While you aren't expected to direct exactly how pupil premium funding is spent, inspectors will look at how effectively you've challenged the impact of that spending to drive up attainment for disadvantaged pupils.

Pupil premium affects the 'inclusion' evaluation area

There's no separate grade for pupil premium spending, but Ofsted will look for evidence of how leaders and staff identify and support socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils (those eligible for the pupil premium).

Leaders have a secure understanding of their disadvantaged pupils’ needs and use the best available evidence, including high-quality research, to inform their approaches to addressing these This includes regularly reviewing their strategy for pupil premium and for early