Pupil Premium within the United Schools Federation

“Dream, Believe, Achieve”

Our federation of schools provides the highest quality of primary education, maximising the attainment of all pupils in our care, within the context of a caring and supporting ethos.  Our focus is on learning and nurturing with a commitment to equality of education for all.  Within our schools we have a range of social and financially disadvantaged parents and carers and, with the help of Pupil Premium, topped up by school funds, provide additional support for disadvantaged children within the federation.

The purpose of Pupil Premium funding is to address inequalities and improve educational provision for particular pupils in order to close the gap between their achievements and that of their peers. We strongly believe that, where possible, this can be achieved with specific interventions and support delivered by our excellent team of support staff – Higher Level Teaching Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Special Educational Needs and counselling staff.  These adults are excellently placed to highlight and target the provisions required ensuring that all pupils are given the opportunity to access and benefit equally from the whole range of curricular and extra-curricular opportunities on offer.

We carefully monitor the effectiveness of interventions ensuring that the impact on children is valuable, positive and meaningful.  Senior staff meet regularly to ensure that all pupils achieve the expected progress and where this is not achievable can evidence the reasons why.

Principles for the allocation of Pupil Premium Funding:-

  1. All pupils registered as eligible for pupil premium will benefit from some identified additional provision in order to improve their learning as they progress through the school.
  2. Pupils not eligible for pupil premium funding may also benefit from enhanced provision as a result of our firm commitment to integrated provision and universal access. Pupils eligible for pupil premium will be supported inclusively according to their needs and will not be segregated from their peers.
  3. All staff will share responsibility for the effective implementation of provision for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils and for narrowing the attainment gap. Our SEN team will champion Pupil Premium ensuring that provision for eligible pupils retains a high profile and is rigorously monitored.
  4. When planning for pupil premium provision we will work with our sister schools to share expertise and strategies, sharing strengths and insight. We will also take into account advice from outside agencies and organisations that focus on the proven impact to disadvantaged children.
  5. The views of pupils eligible for pupil premium will be acknowledged and respected.
  6. As a school we will strive to build positive relationships with the families of our pupil premium children and actively involve them in their children’s education.
  7. We will use our school pupil tracking system, Pupil Tracker, to monitor and review the progress of our pupil premium children. We will use pupil premium funding flexibly, adjusting provision where necessary in response to the outcomes of our regular progress meetings.
  8. The governing body will be updated regularly on pupil premium spending and will review and evaluate the impact of pupil premium funding and progress with scheduled link governor meetings at each school.

We believe that successful spending should lead to rising standards, the narrowing of the attainment gap and the broadening of opportunities for our most disadvantaged pupils.   We are aware of the following areas which have been identified as barriers to learning:-

  • Poor speech and communication skills – regular interventions at school by the Speech Therapist.
  • High percentage of pupil premium children on the SEN register – interventions by the SEN team/Higher Level Teaching Assistants/Teaching Assistants/volunteer readers etc.
  • Life and social skills – availability of school counsellor/SEN team/outside agencies.
  • Parental engagement – close relationships with parents and carers/regular parent meetings and communications with open availability where possible meeting and greeting adults in the playground.

We regularly review how effectively we are spending our allocation of Pupil Premium funding and use this to inform future allocation of identified resources.

Funding for 2017 to 2018 (this year’s spending will be across the United School Federation)

In the 2017 to 2018 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 primary-aged pupils
  • £935 for secondary-aged pupils

Schools will also receive £1,900 for each looked-after pupil who:

  • are defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority or
  • have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order

Schools will also receive £300 for pupils in year groups reception to year 11 recorded as Ever 5 Service Child or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence.

We anticipate using these funds in a similar way to our 2016 – 2017 provision (see below).

Funding for 2016 to 2017

In the 2016 to 2017 financial year, schools received the following funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years:

  • £1,320 for primary-aged pupils
  • £935 for secondary-aged pupils

Schools will also receive £1,900 for each looked-after pupil who:

  • are defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority or
  • have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order

Schools will also receive £300 for pupils in year groups reception to year 11 recorded as Ever 5 Service Child or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence.

Please see our report on how the funding we received was used in 2016 – 2017: Pupil Premium 2016-2017

Funding for 2015 to 2016

In the 2015 to 2016 financial year, schools received the following funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years:

  • £1,320 for primary-aged pupils
  • £900 for secondary-aged pupils

Schools will also receive £1,900 for each looked-after pupil who:

  • are defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority or
  • have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangements order or a residence order

Schools will also receive £300 for pupils in year groups reception to year 11 recorded as Ever 5 Service Child or in receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence.

Please see our report on how the funding we received was used in 2015 – 2016: Pupil Premium 2015-2016

Funding for 2014 to 2015

In the 2014 to 2015 financial year, schools received the following funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years:

  • £1,300 for primary-aged pupils
  • £935 for secondary-aged pupils

Schools will also receive £1,900 for each looked-after pupil who:

  • has been looked after for 1 day or more
  • was adopted from care on or after 30 December 2005, or left care under:
    • a special guardianship order
    • a residence order

Please see our report on how the funding we received was used: Pupil Premium 2014-2015