Pupil Premium

Dear Lord,

Please bless us all,

Help us to care for one another and to forgive one another,

To play and work well together,

Help us to be thankful and always to remember the love of Christ and spread his love wherever we go.

Amen

What is the Pupil Premium?

The Government has introduced the Pupil Premium as a way of reducing the inequalities experienced by disadvantaged pupils up to the age of 16. This funding currently at £1455 (Sept 23) per pupil is given to schools based on the numbers of pupils in receipt of free School meals (FSM) as entered onto the January census. This figure also includes any pupil who has been in receipt of FSM in the previous six years of their schooling (Ever6), whether or not they are currently entitled. The Premium funding is also used to support children from a services/forces family and is currently £335 (Sept 23) and those who are in Local Authority Care, currently £2530 (Sept 23). If a pupil has been registered as eligible for free school meals and has also left local-authority care for any of the reasons above, they will attract the £2530. The support offered using the funding can vary from school to school depending upon their own unique requirements. The report (see link) will provide information about how we intend to use our funding during the current year and what its impact was over the previous year.

What do Ofsted recommend?

School leaders, including governing bodies, should ensure that Pupil Premium funding is not simply absorbed into mainstream budgets, but instead is carefully targeted at the designated children. They should be able to identify clearly how the money is being spent. School leaders, including governing bodies, should evaluate their Pupil Premium spending, avoid spending it on activities that have little impact on achievement for their disadvantaged pupils, and spend it in ways known to be most effective.

What are our objectives for the use of the funding?

Principles:

We ensure that teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all pupils.
We ensure that appropriate provision is made for pupils who belong to vulnerable groups; this includes ensuring the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils are assessed and addressed.
We recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged.
We also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals.
We reserve the right to support any pupil or groups of pupils we legitimately identify as socially disadvantaged.
We also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals.

Pupil premium will be allocated following needs analysis which will identify priority classes, groups or individuals. Not all FSM/Ever 6 pupils will be in receipt of pupil premium interventions.

What funding do we receive?

The amount of Pupil Premium funding received by our school for March 2023 - April 2024 was £20825 (Plus £2000 recovery funding) This funding is then budgeted accordingly to meet the needs of those children in receipt. In order to ensure all pupils (including FSM/CLA/SCISS) make good or better progress we have a programme of intervention/support currently in place where appropriate..

How do we monitor the spend?

The progress and achievement of all pupils is monitored throughout their schooling at key points in the academic year. Any pupil (FSM or not) who is in need of intervention is identified on the school provision maps and the necessary support is put in place using carefully planned adult support. Further analysis takes place to ensure levels of learning are secure, especially at the end of each key stage. Teacher assessment data is gathered six times per year and intervention plans are updated accordingly.

Whole school data is analysed to highlight areas of under performance by year groups in Reading, Writing, Maths and GSP. Intervention is then planned for pupils within these groups who are not meeting national expectations or making expected rates of progress. This can take the form of 1:1 during/after school or small group intervention.

How does the Pupil Premium contribute?

The Headteacher is responsible for overall co-ordination and monitoring of the Pupil Premium allocated funds. Class teachers are responsible for the planning and coordination of adult support to meet the needs of the vulnerable pupils. By analysing assessment data, One to One tuition or group intervention is provided to those pupils who are considered to be in need of support. This support is offered to pupils who are not making expected levels of progress, those who have gaps in the learning identified and those exceeding expectations.

Supporting continued professional development (CPD) of existing staff (Including HLTA) to provide small group intervention and support.

Financial support given for students for curriculum trips and residential.

Funding to provide extracurricular opportunities. (E.g. Sports/Activities clubs )

Year 6 extracurricular booster clubs where appropriate.

How do we assess the use of the funding?

The Headteacher routinely references analysis to FSM/Pupil Premium to ensure this aspect of narrowing the gap is achieved. Through monitoring and data analysis, staff assess and monitor the performance of FSM/forces pupils and implement intervention where needed. Various forms of data tracking is used to monitor the impact of intervention throughout the pupil’s primary schooling at Cottingham CofE Primary School.

OFSTED have recently undertaken a detailed research project as to how schools were spending their Pupil Premium and the impact it has had upon the education of the children for which the Pupil Premium has been targeted. You can read their findings here: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/pupil-premium