The government has announced that the pupil premium which the Lib Dems have been pushing for before the election and in our manifesto will come in next year and will help to provide significant additional funding for those children from deprived backgrounds, it will be based around the following principles:

• Free school meal eligibility – which could be current eligibility or a measure of whether the pupil has ever been eligible for FSM

• out-of-work tax credit – pupils in families in receipt of out-of-work tax credit

• commercial classifications such as ACORN or MOSAIC used by some local authorities.

In addition, the Government set out its proposal for the pupil premium to:

• include looked-after children who have consistently low attainment with only 15% achieving five GCSEs or equivalents compared to 70% of all children

• explore extending to cover service children who face unique challenges and need to be supported as they progress through school as armed forces families.

What this means is that in County Durham we will have additional funding to help improve standards so that every child really does have a chance to fulfill their whole potential – has to be a good thing.