What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is funding allocated to schools for the specific purpose of boosting the attainment of pupils from low-income families. Funding is based on children who have registered for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years, children that are in care or adopted or children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces.

Why was it introduced?

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. 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 Premium and the impact it is having.

For the financial year 2021-22 we have been allocated £117,015.00. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is currently 28%.

This year we intend to use the pupil premium to provide:

  • Learning Mentor support for FSM pupils through the ‘Friends for Life’ enrichment programme and ongoing pastoral support
  • Parental Engagement projects with the Learning Mentor team
  • Lego ‘Express Yourself’ Group provision for those pupils who find it most challenging to remain in mainstream classrooms
  • Emotion Coaching and Mental Health training for all teaching staff
  • Enrichment activities for our FSM pupils, including those most able
  • Focusing staff development on moving to more outstanding teaching, including INSET training costs. Staff CPD&L will focus on supporting children’s emotional wellbeing, effectively identifying learning barriers, developing classroom provision and practice that addresses pupil barriers, developing effective teaching of vocabulary, early language skills and early reading
  • TA support for vulnerable groups
  • SEN TA support for FSM pupils to ensure all reach expected levels of attainment
  • Help with payments for educational visits

Some of the challenges our pupils face are:

  • Low academic achievement as a result of parents who experience challenges with their own ability and motivation to help with homework
  • A lack of pre-school experiences due to significant periods of national lockdown which have limited children’s social interactions and stalled their academic development
  • Low acquisition of Phase 1 Phonics skills due to limited time within a FS1 setting and interrupted Phonics acquisition at Phase 2+ due to periods of national lockdown during Reception (2020 lockdown) and Year 1 (2021 lockdown)
  • Low income that affects the enrichment of our children’s lives
  • Social deprivation leading to low self-esteem
  • A lack of importance placed on school attendance, resulting in persistent absence from school for some of our families

Pupil Premium Roles and Responsibilities

Pupil Premium Action Plan 2021-2024

Pupil Premium Strategy 2021-2022