The pupil premium is a grant given by the government to schools in England to decrease the attainment gap for the most disadvantaged children, whether by income or by family upheaval. For each pupil who is eligible for free school meals, their school receives £1,035. Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals for at least 80% percent of their school lives.
Looked after children are those who are in the care of local authorities. Pupil Premium Plus is paid for these pupils by the Local Authority to the School, once it has been agreed which parts of the pupil’s Personal Education Plan (PEP) will be paid for from the Pupil Premium budget.
Service Pupil Premium (SPP) is provided for pupils from families who are serving or who have served in the armed forces. SPP is not connected to disadvantage. It’s paid with the pupil premium.
Research evidence shows that children who are disadvantaged can experience a range of challenging social and economic conditions that include:
Living in overcrowded or inhabitable living conditions that can negatively affect personal and cognitive development
Unable to access basic nutritional items such as fruit and vegetables that are critical for healthy brain development
Greater exposure to unhealthy lifestyles such as drinking and smoking
Insecure attachment that leads to pupils having negative views about themselves that leads to worse resilience, behavioural problems and poor school attendance.
Adverse childhood experiences that can act as a barrier to concentration and learning
Less opportunity to partake in enrichment opportunities and academic support such home computers and tuition
May come from families that underestimate the impact they have on their child’s development and therefore learning leading to lower career aspirations
As a result of this, disadvantaged pupils are 18 months to 2 years behind non-disadvantaged children by the time they sit their GCSEs; are four times as likely to have mental health difficulties and over a quarter of pupils eligible for free school meals are identified with special educational needs
At Glebe school we are committed to closing this attainment gap that exists as we believe strongly believe that no child should be held back from the circumstances that life has put them in. Inspired by Sir John Dunford’s recommendations of effective pupil premium spending we ensure that the following takes place.
Analysing and breaking down data ensures we can identify what the barriers to learning for Pupil Premium Pupils
Using this to then put in place most appropriate interventions with frequent monitoring of progress
That by improving teaching we are creating better life chances for our Pupil Premium pupils
Being adaptable and changing interventions where evidence shows progress is slow
Addressing School attendance as a priority
Every effort is made to engage parents and carers in the education and progress of their child.
Evidence is used to decide on which strategies are likely to be most effective in overcoming the barriers to learning
Training all staff on the strategies and interventions that are in place.
Complete buy-in from all staff to the importance of the Pupil Premium agenda is essential, with all staff conveying positive and aspirational messages to Pupil Premium-eligible pupils
