Schools would be expected to give priority to poorer children when admitting new pupils and judged on the extent to which they narrow the gap between disadvantaged youngsters and their better-off classmates under plans submitted to government by an influential charity.

In proposals which are being studied closely by education secretary Michael Gove, the Sutton Trust has advised that only schools which agree to give priority to disadvantaged children should get the full benefit of the pupil premium, a new financial incentive to reward schools for accepting poorer pupils.

This funding should be set at £3,000 a child if it is to have an impact, the Sutton Trust’s paper suggests.

Schools rated as outstanding by Ofsted should have poorer children automatically entered into their application process, the paper argues.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/sep/02/reward-schools-poor-children