Pupil Premium
“The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers.””
DfE 2015
We use our Pupil Premium allocation for a range of purposes designed to benefit those pupils who are deemed to be at a disadvantage due to family circumstances.
We use the additional funding to employ and train staff members to support pupils learning and purchase additional resources particularly supporting key subjects such as English and Mathematics. We also use it to enhance the wider curriculum through funding activities such as extra-curricular clubs, trips and residentials visits.
Funding is also available to support music tuition and providing enhanced cultural experiences for our pupils.
Parents and carers with any concerns about the financial costs associated with school are encouraged to speak to the Head or Deputy Headteacher in confidence.
Key facts
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St Michaels Church School encourages high expectations of all pupils.
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We work in close partnership with a wide range of organisations which strongly enhances our provision and helps to supports our local community.
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The school has excellent relationships with many agencies and we work effectively with external agencies to support pupils and families in need support.
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·Accreditations we have include: Inclusion Quality Mark Award, SEMH Nurture HUB for Local Authority.
Key facts
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Increase number of children working at or above age-related expectations.
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·Gaps between key groups have be narrowed.
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·Phonics scores have been largely in line with or above national average.
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Interventions take place earlier in all year groups.
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Identification of needs assessed when a new pupil joins our school.
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Good behaviour in all year groups across the school with a revision of the policy every year in light of the STEPS behaviour policy and model.
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Booster sessions across KS1 and KS2 to support with learning with a focus on year 2 and year 6.
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Improved ICT infrastructure in place to support learning with the use of ipads and laptops. This is in addition to interactive smart boards in each classroom.
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Increased sports provision in school time and after school clubs.
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Wrap-around care provided for families when needed.
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School uniform provided for struggling families.
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Funding offered for school trips to allow everyone to be involved.
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Family support workers to support children in school as well as Parents.
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SEND support from external agencies.
Key facts
Given the last few years and the impact that the pandemic has had on children we are making great steps to help our PP children who have fallen behind. We have supported our PP children greatly over the lockdown periods both financially and academically. We have given food vouchers (Food bank) (FSM vouchers) and over Christmas we provided all PP children with a Christmas Present and food hamper. At Easter we provided Easter eggs for our PP children. The impact is being felt now that children have returned to school and as a whole community we are aiming to fill in the gaps created by the pandemic. This is both academically and mentally. When making decisions about using pupil premium funding it is vital to consider the context of the school and the challenges we face. Common barriers for FSM children can be a lack of support at home, weak language and communication skills, a lack of confidence, behaviour difficulties, attendance and punctuality issues. There may also be complex family situations that prevent children from reaching their potential. This can be for a short period of time or ongoing. The challenges are different for everyone and there is no “one size fits all”. This is the case more than ever after the pandemic. Our key objective in using the Pupil Premium Grant is to narrow the gap between pupil groups. As a school we aim to ensure that each pupil makes good or better progress. Historically attainment have been lower for FSM children (eligible for free school meals) – this is a national problem. Through targeted interventions we are working to eliminate barriers to learning and progress. For children who start school with low attainment, our aim is to ensure that they make accelerated progress in order to reach age related expectations as they move through the school. Furthermore, children who join in Reception are proven to make better progress and higher attainment than those who join throughout KS2 proving that the longer they are in our school, the better their attainment and progress. Those that join during KS2 still make progress but the time available to increase this progress can be less. We start each year looking at and considering the needs of our school, the context and what worked well in previous years. In addition to this we have identified some key principles which we believe will maximise the impact of our pupil premium spending. We have regular Pupil Premium Meetings to identify need and plan for support and interventions.
Key principles
We set high expectations of everyone in school and PP children are no different. We provide high quality CPD for staff to ensure the highest standards of teaching are met. We expect high levels of attendance at school from all pupils. This is monitored closely. We look at each child as an individual and their provision is provided accordingly. We use teachers and TA’s to provide high quality interventions. They are used based on their skill sets. This means that the children receive specialised support. We work with outside agencies to support families when needed as well as the Family Support Worker to support in school. We provide regular opportunities for parents to meet with the class teacher and other staff to discuss progress. We support families in times of crisis with issues such as bereavement, separation worries, housing support, family breakdown etc. We target children with tailored interventions for their specific needs. We aim to increase the child’s confidence and self-esteem to encourage them with their learning.
Number of Pupil Premium Grant ( PPG ) received
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Total number of pupils on roll 420
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Total number of pupils eligible for PPG 82
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Amount of PPG received per pupilVaries on need from £1300 - £1600
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Total amount of PPG received £117,846.25
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Initial Allocation for 2022/23 £106,645
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Review date December 2023
Impact of PP spending
Each year we evaluate the previous year’s spending of PP money. This is to ensure each year we are making the biggest impact in children’s lives. We look for issues that we can solve and where interventions have worked well and adjust them accordingly. Data is analysed to support this process. This is done through book scrutanies, learning walks, observations and end of year scores. We also listen to the student and staff voice to ensure the best outcomes are reached. Assessments are carried out and these scores inform the spending. Pupil progress meetings are held at the start of each term to ensure interventions are reviewed and are working well. Case studies are done with children and parents to ensure the impact of pastoral interventions such as attendance and behaviour. Our SLT have an overview of PP to ensure a cohesive working throughout school. Governors are updated on PP at regular intervals throughout the year and the PP team meet with the designated governor to discuss progress each year.