Pupil Premium

The total allocation based on the calculation for the school for the 2020-21 financial year is £8,840

Pupil Premium funding and expenditure is carefully planned each academic year to ensure the maximum impact on the pupils who are in receipt of this.

Pupil Premium Strategy 2020-21

Below is our Pupil Premium strategy statement which goes into more detail about how the funding we receive will be allocated this academic year. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact school or email murrayc@westlakesmat.org.uk

What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is a government initiative that targets additional funding at pupils considered to be from deprived backgrounds because research has shown that such pupils underachieve compared to others. The money is provided to ensure that schools are able to support these pupils in achieving their full potential. The government have used pupils who are entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) as an indicator of deprivation and they allocate a fixed amount of money per pupil to schools each financial year based upon the number of pupils who have been registered for FSM at any point during the previous six years.

An amount of money is also allocated to pupils who are looked after by the Local Authority (LAC) and pupils who have a parent/parents who are serving in the armed forces. The government does not dictate how this money should be spent but we are expected to employ strategies that we are confident will breakdown any barriers in attainment between those pupils who are considered to be deprived and those who are not. We are accountable for this allocation of resources and must demonstrate that pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium achieve well compared to other pupils.

What is the school doing to break down the barriers caused by deprivation?

The Governing body review Pupil Premium funding and outcomes regularly. A senior teacher oversees pupil Premium and there is a governor lead.

The progress of these pupils is carefully tracked and compared against the non-pupil premium children. Hard and soft data is collected to help show academic progress as well as progress that can’t be shown by academic results such as emotional and social improvements. Comparisons in academic progress are made between the Primary Schools in the academy as well as compared to schools similar in size and make up on a national level.

Each of our disadvantaged students has their own Individual Education Plan with targets specific to them. These are written termly and monitored at least every half term. These plans are shared with parents and they are encouraged to assist where possible.

We continually research the newest recommendations for ways to achieve success with disadvantaged students and work with the Education Endowment Foundation to ensure we are spending our money in the ways that will bring about the best results for our pupils.

How we help all our students achieve their full potential

Research tells us what disadvantaged students benefit from and as such we strive to implement the following:

• High quality teaching – we ensure this through regular observation, monitoring and a programme of Continued Professional Development. We work closely with our cluster school and other Primaries in the academy to up-skill our staff and keep them well-informed and inspired.
• Small class sizes - our classes are small and this means children receive more individual support
• Careful planning of how to utilise support staff – we have detailed timetables to ensure our support staff are used effectively at all times.
• Staff awareness and understanding - staff ensure they know what the gaps are in a child’s learning and set IEP targets with measurable outcomes and clear step by step instructions for support staff to utilise in small group and one to one sessions.
• Planned, timely and targeted interventions – These can be groups focusing on a similar target or weekly one-to-one sessions with disadvantaged children to assist them in achieving their individual targets in their IEP. These are often English and Maths based, for example, additional phonics or targeted reading. Some pupils receive support to develop confidence, physical motor skills and their emotional wellbeing.
• Rigorous monitoring and evaluation of targeted interventions – staff regularly review individual IEP targets, set new ones and adapt their strategies where they see fit.
• Enrichment – we run a breakfast club and a wide range of afterschool clubs. Disadvantaged children are entitled to attend 2 after school clubs for free. We also provide many opportunities throughout the year for pupils to learn outside the classroom and also maximise opportunities presented by having visitors into school.
• Nurturing and support in order to develop confidence, self-esteem and raise aspirations - we work hard to support all of our families and provide a safe environment for children to learn in. We have small nurture groups which run through the week, we provide specified talk time to those who need it. When required, we provide breakfast, PE Kit and spare uniform to ensure pupils can embrace school life fully
• Targeted parental engagement and support – we have good relationships with our parents and regularly share their child’s current targets with them. Results from a parental survey have resulted in us being in the process of providing a range of online videos to help parents support their child with maths and phonics.
• Staff to oversee the Pupil Premium Programme – Senior teacher Claire Murray; attends training, keep abreast of new research, teaches new strategies to staff, oversees all interventions, collates and analyses data and keeps governors updated.

Other Disadvantaged Pupils

We are aware that pupils might be disadvantaged using variety of measures and that access to Pupil Premium funding is not the only measure to explain why there might be barriers to learning.

All pupils are categorised using a disadvantage matrix so that teachers are aware of possible barriers to learning and address possible issues wherever possible.

We currently have no pupils classed as EAL in school, however we have several pupils who have parents with limited English skills. We support these families in a variety of ways. Often explaining letters and helping them to navigate online tasks linked to their child.

Alongside these pupils we also have a vulnerable pupils list, which contains the names of pupils for which we have several concerns, these might be linked to safeguarding, SEN and family break up. However they do also include pupils, where we have concerns which don’t meet the neglect or safeguarding thresholds, but we are still aware that there are challenges at home