Pupil Premium – What is it?

Pupil premium is a payment made to schools by the Government.  It makes up part of the funding given to schools; it is received into the school budget and is available for use throughout the whole school. Schools are free to decide how best to allocate the money to effectively support and boost the attainment of the most vulnerable pupils. Pupil premium funding is based on pupils who are registered for a free school meal, having a parent who works in the forces or is looked after by the local authority for more than six months.

Why has it been introduced?

The government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to the main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying equalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers by ensuring the funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.  Whilst schools are free to spend the pupil premium as they see fit we are required to publish online information about how we have used the funds.

Pupil Premium 

As per DFE guidance, the Pupil Premium Strategy should now be written on a set form that is standard across England.  Please click the link below to see how we invest our money into the children using the key elements from the EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) to ensure that the Pupil Premium children get the best education and maximise their learning opportunities to ‘narrow the gap.’ Effective pupil premium strategies rely on access to high quality internal data and information.

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/pupil-premium-guide/

Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across 3 areas, with a particular focus on teaching.

1. High Quality Teaching

Investing in high-quality teaching, for example:

• training and professional development for teachers

• Developing high quality teaching, assessment and a broad and balanced, knowledge-based curriculum that responds to the needs of pupils.

• assessment is key to ensuring the gaps are closed.

• use of technology to support learners
• recruitment and retention
• support for teachers early in their careers; mentoring and coaching for teachers 

2. Targeted academic support

Additional support for some pupils focused on their specific needs, for example:

• one-to-one tuition
• small group tuition
• targeted intervention to help language support
• targeted interventions to help those with SenD
•  

3. Wider Strategies

Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges. For example:

• school breakfast clubs
• support and strategies to help emotional health and wellbeing
• support with behavioural needs
• help with the cost of educational trips or visits
•  support with attendance

We review our Pupil Premium Strategy termly and this remains a focus for our school. It is a central part of our school Improvement Plan and links to our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.