What is the Pupil Premium Grant?
The pupil premium grant is a Government led fund which is allocated to schools with the intention of raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and closing the gap between them and their peers. Pupils who are eligible for this funding are those on roll that are known to have been eligible for free school meals at any time in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’), as well as Looked-after children (LAC) as defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority. Also eligible for funding are children who 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, and those children who are from Service families.
The Government believes that the pupil premium grant, which is additional funding to the underlying schools’ budget, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals and their peers, by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.
How is the grant used?
Schools have the freedom to spend the pupil premium grant in a way they think will best support the raising of attainment for eligible pupils.
At St. Bernadette’s we are committed to ensuring that all of our children make the best possible progress. We track the achievement of every child on a regular basis and do all we can to make sure each child achieves their full potential. Through careful assessment, class teachers work to ensure the next stages of learning are catered for, be that through a suitable supporting intervention, consolidation work, or work which moves the child on to the next stages of learning. The intended impact of the premium is to remove barriers to learning for these pupils and to help them to increasingly meet age-related objectives on a level at least equal to their peers.
At St. Bernadette’s the pupil premium grant is used to fund a range of activities and forms of support for eligible pupils who are underachieving or who are at risk of underachieving, for example:
• Continuing professional development for staff to support quality first teaching
• Intervention strategies such as one-to-one and small group tuition in phonics, reading, writing, mathematics, and emotional support
• Teaching assistant time within the classroom, supporting quality first teaching, and providing direct support to individuals and small groups
• Focused and specific mentoring
• Individualised support and purchase of resources for individuals with specific needs
• A wide range of subsidised extra-curricular activities
• Subsidised uniform
• Subsidised residential trips.
