Marie Cahalane reports on our pupil premium polling.

A “growing” number of schools are using their funding for disadvantaged pupils to offset budget cuts elsewhere, new polling shows.

BT News reports that in a survey, six per cent of teachers reported this as the main priority for their school’s pupil premium spending – an increase from to per cent in 2015.

The research, published by the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation, involved 1,607 teachers.

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Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “It is worrying that a growing number of schools feel they have to use funding for disadvantaged pupils to offset budget cuts.

“The pupil premium is a key lever for raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and it’s vital that it continues to be focused on their education.”

Read the full report here.