What is Pupil Premium funding?
In the 2021 to 2022 financial year, schools will receive the following funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years:
- £1,320 for pupils in reception year to year 6
Schools will also receive £2,300 for each pupil who has left local-authority care because of 1 of the following:
- adoption
- a special guardianship order
- a child arrangements order
- a residence order
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 £2,300 rate.
Children who have been in local-authority care for 1 day or more also attract £2,00 of pupil premium funding. Funding for these pupils doesn’t go to their school; it goes to the virtual school head (VSH) in the local authority that looks after the child. VSHs are responsible for managing pupil premium funding for looked-after children.
What is the key priority for this funding?
To narrow the disadvantage gap by addressing inequalities and raising the attainment of those pupils in low-income families.
Principles on which we base our investment decisions.
We ensure that teaching and learning opportunities meet the individual needs of the pupils in our care.
We ensure that appropriate provision is made for all pupils who belong to vulnerable groups, including those from low-income families who are disadvantaged.
Pupil premium funding will be allocated following a needs analysis which identifies priority classes, groups and individuals.
How do we decide what to invest in
The Chair of Governors, Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team of the school evaluate all of the year groups in the school and based upon the specific needs of the children in the year groups a recommendation is produced on how best to use the funding in order to support and accelerate the educational progress of our pupils in order that they all achieve and attain to their full potential whilst with our school.
The recommendation is evaluated by the Governing Body who approve the final agreed investment plan for the funding.
How has the Pupil Premium investment helped our children?
Ofsted January 2019 stated
“My second line of enquiry was about how you [headteacher] and the governors use pupil premium grant to accelerate the progress of pupils eligible for this grant in reading and writing. You and the governors have targeted funding to ensure that pupils have effective support in class. In addition, you provide small group and individual work to help pupils improve their reading skills.”
Providing targeted intervention individual or small group support in Maths and Literacy to accelerate progress, including targeting the more able to exceed targets .The range of provision the governors may consider making for this group may include:
- To provide an additional adult in the Early Years to support the social and emotional needs of our pupils
- To provide relevant continuous professional development (CPD) to enable experienced HLTA’s and Teaching Assistants to deliver specialised support e.g. Eklan Speech & Language training; Sound Discovery.
- To provide Speech & Language support, including English as an additional language (EAL).
- To ensure all staff supporting the identified children have received high quality CPD and are monitored to ensure the provision is of the highest quality.
- To provide counselling support for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties that provide a barrier to their learning.
Annual Pupil Premium Reports can be found on this link.
