Overview
The Pupil Premium, introduced in April 2011, is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. The gap is the relative rate of progress of pupils who are disadvantaged compared to those who are not.
The government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM), in the care of the local authority (CLA), adopted from care or whose parents are in the services, and their peers. Schools must ensure that the Pupil Premium funding is used to tackle disadvantage and that it reaches the pupils who need it most.
Progress of Pupil Premium students is tracked by the Heads of House. The member of the Leadership Team who is ultimately responsible for Pupil Premium funding is Mr Stuart White, Deputy Headteacher. The Governor responsible is Miss Margaret Lumley. Their aim is to ensure that the Pupil Premium spending addresses this issue of social disadvantage and helps reduce the attainment and progress gap.
Objectives
1. The Pupil Premium will be used to provide additional educational support to improve the progress and to raise the standard of achievement for these pupils.
2. The funding will be used to narrow and close the gap between the achievement of these pupils and their peers.
3. As far as its powers allow the school will use the additional funding to address any underlying inequalities between children eligible for Pupils Premium and others.
Strategies
1. Pupil Premium will be clearly identifiable within the budget.
2. The Head Teacher, in consultation with the governors and staff, will decide how the Pupil Premium is spent for the benefit of entitled pupils.
3. The school will assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils.
4. The school will seek to further develop strategies and interventions which can improve the progress and attainment of these pupils.
5. The school will track the impact of the strategies put into place through the funding to ensure that we can show the value that has been added to the education of the entitled children.
6. The school will be accountable for how it has used the additional funding to support the achievement of those pupils covered by the Pupil Premium and the Headteacher will report to the Governors, parents and carers on how effective the intervention has been in achieving its aims.
7. The school will publish online information about how we have used the Premium.
8. The school will ensure that parents, carers, Governors and others are made fully aware of the attainment of pupils covered by the Premium.
9. The school will monitor, evaluate and review the success of the impact of the pupil premium funding.
Outcomes
This policy will play an important part in the educational development of the individual pupils who are entitled to the Pupil Premium. We will ensure that these pupils are treated equally and as favourably as others and that the additional funding is used well to address the challenges they face. The school will use the additional funding to promote the achievement and progress of all entitled pupils. Through wise use of this additional funding we are fully committed to ensuring that the individual needs of each entitled child are met. As a result of the additional funding, these children will make better progress and achieve higher standards than would have been likely without it.