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Strategy for the use of Pupil Premium Grant
‘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:
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.
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.
2.1 Use of the Pupil Premium Grant in 2017-18
The school received £96,242 of funding for the 2017-18 academic year.
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.
Prior year funding was:
2012-13 £22,092 2013-14 £47,887 2014-15 £63,302 2015-16 £82,400 2016-17 £95,647
The school recognises that students in receipt of Pupil Premium funding may face barriers to educational achievement. For example, they may be unable to join extra-curricular trips; they may be unable to purchase ICT equipment or other additional school equipment they need to support their study at home; they may face additional pastoral challenges through their school years.
The school used the additional funding we receive 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 literacy and numeracy, including recovery and support
In addition, staff have been 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.
We take this approach because we know there are two fundamental strands to the process of supporting these students to improve their engagement with education:
It is important to note that it should not be assumed that all students eligible for Free School Meals/Pupil Premium need some or all of this support. There are a number of this group of students in this school and elsewhere who are making excellent progress already, and who will need minimal support as a result. It is also the case that the school’s general expectation and support for high levels of participation (supported financially for this group in a number of areas) and responsibility, would appear to impact very positively on the development of students this group.
Table 1 provides additional detail on how the school applied its Pupil Premium funding in 2017-18.
Table 1: Application of Pupil Premium Grant in 2017-18
Expenditure Item |
Amount |
Pastoral care focus inc. attendance and behaviour |
£24k |
Subject specific support including interventions and attainment focus |
£23k |
Counselling, uniform grant, trips, homework support, music lessons |
£20k |
School meals |
£17k |
GCSE support including mentoring & review of marking funding |
£12k |
Total |
£96k |
2.2 Effect of the Pupil Premium Grant on Eligible and Other Pupils
The school tracks the progress of all students, including students in this particular group. Success will be evidence that shows that students in this group are making progress in line with all others. We do this using assessment data from all subject areas as well as checks on the development of reading and spelling. We 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.
Table 2 provides a summary of the performance of pupil premium students in 2017-18.
Table 2: Performance of Pupil Premium Students in 2017-18
Year Group |
Statistical Measure |
Notes |
11 |
Non PP P8 +0.27 PP P8 +0.14 |
GCSE Results – Progress 8 |
3.1 Use of the Pupil Premium Grant in 2018-19
The school has budgeted for Pupil Premium grant of £105,080 for the 2018-19 academic year.
Barriers to Educational Achievement Faced by Eligible Pupils at the School
Barriers to educational achievement amongst Pupil Premium students are always specific to each student. Nevertheless, there are some generalised issues that can be identified as being barriers to educational achievement. These barriers, the school’s response and the reasons for the approach are set out in Table 3.
Table 3: Barriers to PP Students’ Achievement, School Response and Reason for Approach
Barrier |
Response and Reason for Approach |
Identified Special Educational Needs |
Provide advice to EHCP assessment requests. |
High level of medical needs |
|
Speech and Language & social communication difficulties |
Language development and building of confidence and self-esteem
Increase progress and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics, plus development of language, communication and social skills
Improve communication skills, which will impact directly on learning through development of speaking, listening, reading and writing
|
Social, emotional and mental health |
To support with social, emotional and mental health To help identify suitable provision and strategies to support children with extreme social, emotional and educational needs. |
Broken family structures |
To enable adult support to be given to children with their homework, who do not necessarily get support at home Parenting courses/groups/individual sessions are run to impact positively on outcomes for children through addressing/supporting:
|
Low parental engagement/parenting skills |
|
Low attendance |
Increase attendance of identified pupils to enable greater access to learning
To enable children with high levels of medical need to access mainstream education and supports their school attendance.
|
Deprivation |
To further develop ICT skills for children who do not have access to technology at home
|
The school reviews its pupil premium strategy at least annually and the date of the next review is July 2019.