Pupil Premium

Pupil premium funding is additional funding awarded to schools to help them to tackle academic issues relating to disadvantage; in terms of financial pressures or  instability. The grant is based primarily on the number of pupils eligible for Free School Meals at the January census, but also encompasses children in care or from forces families.

The funding is allocated to initiatives which remove barriers to learning with the aim of ensuring that pupils reach their full potential both academically and socially. It is not intended as a fund to support specific individuals, although in a small school it is more likely that individuals may benefit more directly. We have a general policy to support the identification of appropriate spending.

Funding is received in June, and is retrospective, reflecting the cohort of eligible pupils in the previous academic year. The school typically spends the allocation over the within each academic year but is able to carry funds forward into the next academic year for strategic purposes where appropriate. 

The Strategy and Impact Review for the past academic year details planned spending for this year and the impact of spending in the previous year.

In 2022-23 there are additional grants available to schools:

1. Recovery Premium (a PPG top-up to allow for additional support; £145 per PPG pupil, or £2000, whichever is higher)
2. Catch-up premium (to support pupils in closing academic gaps caused by the Covid-19 response
3. School-led tutoring grant (to support delivery of 1-1/small group work by existing staff; based on 60% of PPG eligible pupils)

In general, as the aims and strategies of the overall PPG strategy far outweigh the funding available in our school, and each grant is similarly relatively small, these grants will be used to support delivery of the  aims of the overall PPG strategy for this academic year.

MEASURING THE IMPACT

  'Schools, headteachers and teachers decide how to use the Pupil Premium allocation, as they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for individual pupils.'

Source: DFE website

Fir Ends School will evaluate the impact of the funding through:

•         Pupil progress in core subjects using internal & national (e.g. FFT Aspire) data relating to these pupils
•         Surveying pupil’s self-confidence and emotional development

The impact will be monitored through the use of: 

•        The school’s tracking system and national data publications 
•        Pupil progress meetings
•        The school’s monitoring programme including lesson observations
•        Parent consultations
•        Discussion with pupils/pupil questionnaires