Schools warned over 'appalling gap' between rich and poor "We know that with the right support, the right challenge and intervention, poor children can dramatically outperform the low expectations which some people have for them," Mr Laws said. Under new plans, Ofsted will specifically check on the extent to which each school raises standards among a subset of very poor pupils. Schools previously ranked as outstanding or good - the watchdog's two highest ratings - will be marked down if a large gap persists between the top performing-pupils and a minority of weaker children. Mr Laws also insisted that top head teachers with a track record of boosting standards among poor pupils would be parachuted in to the worst schools. Speaking after his address, he said: "I think in many schools there are signs that those who are failing to deliver on "gap-narrowing" are not giving sufficient attention to it because they think their overall levels of attainment are good and so they are more relaxed than they ought to be. To be a good or an outstanding school in the future, you will not just be bailed out by having high overall attainment; you have actually got to focus much more on these gaps than was the case in the past and having Ofsted support for that is really important. As part of Coalition education reforms, a new "pupil premium" has been introduced in an attempt improve results among the most disadvantaged children. Schools receive £600 - rising to £900 in 2013/14 - for each pupil eligible for free lunches. But Mr Laws admitted some schools have "yet to really fully grasp the intent" of the programme or use the extra cash on the poorest children. For the first time this year, Ofsted has started inspecting schools to ensure the pupil premium is being properly spent. No school will be allowed to retain the "outstanding" tag if it is not "achieving excellence for its most disadvantaged pupils," said Mr Laws. "Even where overall attainment is high, we want schools to focus relentlessly on closing this gap by improving outcomes for those from disadvantaged backgrounds," he said.