Pupil Premium Policy

Background

The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. Research has shown that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to underachieve compared to their peers. The fund is paid directly to the school by London Borough of Ealing (or managed by the LA Virtual School Head in the case of Looked After Children).

Eligibility

The pupil premium is allocated to the school based on the number of eligible pupils in Reception to Year 6. Eligible pupils fall into the categories explained below:

Ever 6 free school meals

Pupils recorded in the most recent October school census who are known to have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years (as determined by the DfE’s latest conditions of grant guidance).

This includes pupils first known to be eligible for free school meals in the most recent October census.

It does not include pupils who received universal infant free school meals but would not have otherwise received free lunches.

Looked after children

Pupils who are in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, a local authority in England or Wales for at least 1 day. Allocations will be provisionally based on the children looked-after data return in March of the previous year, and then confirmed in December of the current year based on the children looked-after data return in March of the current year.

Post-looked after children

Pupils recorded in the most recent October census who were looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted, or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order.

The portion of PPG funding for LAC and PLAC pupils is referred to as ‘pupil premium plus’ (PP+).

Ever 6 service children

Pupils recorded in the most recent October census:

• With a parent serving in the regular armed forces
• Who have been registered as a ‘service child’ in the school census at any point in the last 6 years (as determined by the DfE’s latest conditions of grant guidance), including those first recorded as such in the most recent October census
• In receipt of a child pension from the Ministry of Defence because one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces.

Our Aims

North Ealing Primary School welcomes and shares the government’s aim of tackling all forms of disadvantage.

All members of staff and governors accept responsibility for disadvantaged pupils and are committed to meeting their educational, pastoral and social needs in a caring environment.

Through the use of Pupil Premium Funding we seek to raise the attainment of disadvantaged learners and to ensure that they achieve at least as well as their non-disadvantaged peers (closing the gap).

Context

Barriers to Learning

When making decisions about using pupil premium funding it is important to consider the context of the school and the subsequent challenges faced. Common barriers for FSM children can be less support at home, weak language and communication skills, lack of confidence, more frequent behaviour difficulties, and attendance and punctuality issues. There may also be complex family situations that prevent children from flourishing. The challenges are varied and there is no “one size fits all”.

Allocation of Pupil Premium Funding

There are four main areas to which we allocate Pupil Premium Funding:

• Educational provision: Aims to catch up or keep up children at risk of underachieving. Children are discussed at each pupil progress meeting, three times per year and targets are planned in their pupil passports.
• Extended school provision: clubs, music lessons, trips and other experiences that would otherwise be unlikely to be accessible to children at the school.
• Pastoral provision: including provisions that develop social skills, emotional literacy and overall health and wellbeing. This includes the breakfast club.
• Family support: activities that support families of children at our school and help families to support learning at home more effectively.

We recognise that not all disadvantaged pupils will be identified by the pupil premium criteria and likewise, not all children eligible for pupil premium funding will be disadvantaged or underachieving. Therefore, we do not ring fence our pupil premium funding but allocate it according to the needs of individuals or groups of pupils.

In choosing the type of provision we use we consider firstly the needs of the children and the desired outcomes as well as the resources (both human and physical) that are available.

We may also refer to educational research regarding the effectiveness of provisions using the Educational Endowment Fund to inform our choices. This is outlined in the school’s Pupil Premium Strategy.

Pupil Premium grants are not personal funds. It is for the school to decide how best to utilise the funding to close the gap of its disadvantaged children.

Responsibilities

Headteacher and SLT

In North Ealing School the Deputy Headteacher for Inclusion retains overall responsibility for leading the pupil premium strategy.

The SLT responsible for data will be responsible for producing reports for the governing body showing the progress made by socially disadvantaged pupils and projections for each academic year.

Targets for reducing the gap between pupil premium pupils and their peers are planned as part of the School’s SDP.

The Headteacher will have overall responsibility for evaluating the impact of the programme.

Phase Leaders and SENCo

Phase leaders are responsible for the progress of all pupils they teach and support, especially pupils with disabilities and special needs and those who qualify for additional funding through the pupil premium grant. They will liaise over the appropriate provision necessary in Pupil Progress Meetings with class teachers.

All staff

All staff are expected to have an in-depth knowledge of all the pupils they teach and support, especially pupils with disabilities and special needs and those who have multiple barriers to learning (SEN, EAL, PPG) and those who qualify for additional funding through the pupil premium grant.

Class teachers are responsible for the progress made by all the pupils.

All staff will give pupils clear feedback that helps pupils to improve their work.

Monitoring

All provisions will be regularly monitored through the school’s Pupil Progress meetings to ensure they are meeting the outcomes set. This will lead to informed decisions on whether to continue particular interventions or not.

In addition, the attendance for PPG children and those in the vulnerable category will also be monitored to ensure that attendance is >97%.

This policy will be reviewed and updated every two years.

Accountability

An annual report will be available at the end of September which will detail expenditures and impact for the previous year. This will be reported to governors and other stakeholders and placed on the website.

Regular updates will be made to governors through the committee and FGB Headteacher reports.

The committee with oversight this policy
Curriculum & Standards
Policy to be approved by Full Governing Board
30/11/22
Policy last reviewed by the Curriculum & Standards Committee
23/11/22
Policy last ratified and adopted by Full Governing Body
30/11/22
Policy / Document due for review
30/11/23