‘The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.’ (DFE 2012).

Schools are given additional funding for every student on their roll who is:

• a Looked After Child OR
• is currently able to claim Free School Meals OR
• has claimed Free School Meals in the last 6 years.

This additional funding has been allocated to every school due to national figures which show that this group does not achieve as well as their peers. The funding is therefore to support schools to address this issue.

How must this money be used?

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. There is no requirement for this money to be spent on individual students simply because they fall into this category. It is expected, however, that the funding will be used to support, as necessary, students in this group and other lower-income families so that this group makes the same progress as their peers.

How much funding does the school receive?

Funding is based on the number of eligible students at the school in January and the amount is notified to us in the Spring term. It is paid in arrears.

2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16
£22,092	£47,887	£63,302	£82,400

 

2016/ 17 allocation is £91,870.

How will the school use this funding?

The school plans to use this funding to provide the following support structures for those students that need additional help in order to achieve success in line with school and national expectations:

• 1-1 and small group intervention in English and Mathematics
• Social skills, self-esteem and other specialised programmes
• Mentoring and advice for students in this group (including access to counselling services), in order to raise aspirations and remove barriers to success
• Additional behaviour and learning support
• Close liaison with parents/carers, sharing concerns and celebrating successes
• Homework support and independent learning resources
• Music tuition
• Uniform grants
• Financial support for: revision guides and other resources that will help progress and are not needed as part of the taught course; access to school events such as visits that may otherwise not be accessible to students due to cost.

 

In addition, staff are appointed whose role includes specific responsibilities with respect to this group of students; their role will include monitoring, tracking and ensuring appropriate intervention as needed as well as parental liaison.

It is important to note that it should not be assumed that all students on Free School Meals will need some or all of this support. It is likely that there will be students who will be making excellent progress already, and who will need minimal support as a result. 

How does the school measure success?

The school tracks the progress of all students. Success will be evidence that shows that students in this group are making progress in line with all others. We will also compare their progress against their peers in the school and nationally, so that we can judge the impact of our work in this broader context.

The table below shows the difference in progress rates between pupil premium students and non-pupil premium students.

Year Group	English	Maths
7	+25%	+34%
8	-3%	+5%
9	+8%	-9%
10	-1%	+3%