Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium funding was introduced by the Government in April 2011 and is a payment given to schools, from the Local Authority, to help support children from families on lower incomes. Children eligible for Pupil Premium funding are children who are entitled to free school meals, children in care and children of parents in the armed forces. For 2020/21 this is £1345 for pupils on free school meals, £2345 for children in care and £310 for children of parents in the armed forces.
Children on role at the annual census who have been eligible for free school meals in the last 6 years will also gain this extra funding for the school (these are known as “Ever6”).
Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:
• generally, face extra challenges in reaching their potential at school
• often do not perform as well as their peers
The pupil premium grant is designed to allow schools to help disadvantaged pupils by improving their progress and the exam results they achieve.
DfE Pupil Premium Policy (Updated February 2021)
We have high expectations of all of our children and strongly foster an ethos of achievement, equal opportunities and inclusivity for all.
‘Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in a range of subjects throughout the school.’
‘Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is used effectively.’
Ofsted June 2017
‘It’s up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium. This is because school leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use funding to improve attainment.’
DfE Pupil Premium Policy (Updated February 2021)
As a school we research best practise and use our own data to inform our spending. We use the EEF Tiered Approach in our practice. The tiered approach identifies teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies. If you see our strategy document, you will see how we have spent our funding in these categories.
We believe that all the strategies support each other in enabling the best outcomes for all children. We recognise that underperformance may apply equally to low, middle or higher attainment groups of pupils. We invest in developing out teachers and learning support assistants to be the best they can be and in understanding the barriers that may exist to achievement including academic as well as emotional.
‘Good teaching is the most important lever schools have to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.’
EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium
We invest in a HLTA who provides 1:1 or small group academic interventions in Maths and Reading. This tuition is also used wider for any children who also may not be eligible for the grant, but who we feel need the extra support due to other reasons. Tuition is not reserved solely for low attaining pupils; it’s used for all children who we identify through our tracking system who are at risk of falling behind.
We are committed to developing the whole child and we strongly believe in ensuring that all our children, especially any disadvantaged children, have full access to and equal opportunities to take advantage of the wider life in school thus building character. Our wider strategies encompass access to music tuition, clubs, trips including residentials and taking on ambassador roles within school. We have a team of pastoral support workers including a Family Support Officer and designated ELSA who support children’s emotional wellbeing. Attendance is prioritised and our family support officer supports a number of parents in this area.
Please see our attached Pupil Premium Strategy for more information.