Pupil Premium

What is it?

The Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) is funding allocated to schools for the specific purpose of raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Funding is based on children who have been recorded as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years (including eligible children of families who have no recourse to public funds) and children who are (or have previously been) in care. A portion of the PPG is also provided for supporting children whose parents are currently serving in the regular armed forces. 

Why is the Pupil Premium Grant in place?

The Government believes that the Pupil Premium Grant, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address underlying inequalities between disadvantaged children and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most. Whilst schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit, they are required to publish their strategy online.

For the academic year 2022-23, our school received £365,071 of Pupil Premium funding. For the current academic year (September 2023 to July 2024) our school anticipates receiving £424,011 of Pupil Premium funding. This is based on 55.5% of primary pupils (FS2-Y6) being eligible. 

What are our main barriers to disadvantaged children's progress?

  • Many of our children have gaps in their learning, arrive in school not at normal transition points and are generally well below age-related expectations when they start school. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-pandemic, with disadvantaged pupils often being disproportionately affected. Our data shows that, whilst some attainment gaps have continued to close, others have widened when compared to pre-pandemic end-of-year data. Therefore, our Pupil Premium Strategy will focus on ensuring all disadvantaged children receive consistently high-quality personalised teaching and learning that ensures they make accelerated progress.
  • Our assessments and observations show that for many of our children, limited vocabulary, poor phonics and/or poor oracy skills are a barrier to their progress and attainment. This is the case both for our pupils for whom English is a first language and for our EAL and NtE pupils. Therefore, our Pupil Premium Strategy will focus on improving disadvantaged pupils’ vocabulary, reading and oracy skills to support their whole curriculum learning and development. 
  • Our discussions and observations show that many children have limited access to wider life and extracurricular activities. This further limits their vocabulary, wider knowledge of the world and ability to attach their learning to prior experiences. Therefore, our Pupil Premium Strategy will focus on improving disadvantaged children's access to a wide variety of life experiences and extracurricular activities.
  • Attendance and punctuality is a barrier for some of our most disadvantaged children. The attendance of pupil premium children at the end of 2021/22 was lower than their non-PP peers. A higher percentage of PP children are also persistent absentees when compared to their non-PP peers, which impacts on their progress, attainment and wider wellbeing. In addition to lower attendance rates, the families of some of our most disadvantaged children struggle to provide uniform, equipment and to ensure that their children arrive at school ready to learn. Therefore, our strategies will provide mechanisms and support for children and families to ensure that children can arrive on time, with good attendance, ready to learn and feeling a part of their school community.
  • Many of our children enter school with social, emotional, physical and mental health needs, and require support with their mental health and wellbeing in order to be able to access and participate in learning. This, similarly to Challenge 1, has also been heightened as a result of the COVID pandemic, as is demonstrated in pupil and parent surveys. Therefore, our Pupil Premium Strategy will focus on improving the mental health and wellbeing of all children and will, in particular, support disadvantaged children and families.

What are we spending our Pupil Premium on this year?

  • Employment of HLTAs and TAs to support quality first teaching in classrooms as well as delivering targeted support and intervention.
  • Provision of school-led tuition.
  • Provision of targeted nurture groups.
  • Free Breakfast Club for eligible pupils.
  • Free after-school tuition and enrichments clubs.
  • Free holiday clubs for eligible pupils.
  • Subsidised trips and extra-curricular experiences for eligible pupils.
  • Provision of free uniform and bookbag for eligible pupils.
  • Purchase of diagnostic assessment materials to support identification of learning gaps.
  • Purchase of online software for production of visual and bilingual resources.
Last strategy review completed: July 2023
Next strategy review due: July 2024

2022-23

% achieving GLD/EXS+ in statutory assessments

National All

(FFT Early National Figures 2023)

All

PP

Non-PP

Reception

GLD

50

33

56

67.6

Year 1

Phonics Pass

63

55

68

80.5

Year 2

Combined RWM EXS+

45

28

50

57

Reading EXS+

48

34

61

69

Writing EXS+

47

28

65

61

Maths EXS+

57

41

71

71

Reading GDS

7

7

6

19

Writing GDS

5

0

10

8

Maths GDS

8

7

10

17

Phonics Pass

85

79

90

 

Year 6

Combined RWM EXS+

38

29

49

61

Reading EXS+

48

39

59

74

Writing EXS+

56

41

73

73

Maths EXS+

47

33

63

74

GPS EXS+

50

39

63

73

Reading higher standard

9

10

7

29

Writing GDS

7

8

5

13

Maths higher standard

10

8

12

25

GPS higher standard

21

14

29

31

Reading VA Score

(from FFT Early Analysis)

-3.2

-2.7*

-4.0*

*Data for FSM6 children, rather than PP

Writing VA Score

(from FFT Early Analysis)

-1.0

-1.2*

-0.9*

Maths VA Score

(from FFT Early Analysis)

-2.2

-2.3*

-2.2*