Pupil Premium (PP) students are those students who are looked after by the local authority, those who have been eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years (Ever 6 FSM) and for students whose parents are serving in the armed forces or have been in the previous 4 years (Ever 5 Service).
The school development plan for 2016/17 incorporated specific interventions both at KS3 and KS4 with a strong focus on mathematics and English. In 2017 the Year 11 cohort of 174 students had 45 PP students of which 30 were classified as disadvantaged.
The 2016 results indicated great success in rapidly closing the PP gap and raising the progress and attainment of PP students. The challenge was to reduce these further for 2016/17. The strategies used were not solely focussed in Year 11, but were across all year groups with the most successful strategies from KS4 being expanded into KS3 for 2015/2016 and these interventions are now in the second year. The creation of a raising standards leader post at KS3 provided clear leadership and accountability. The post encompassed KS3 PP progress, including Year 7 Catch Up along with feeder school transition. This combination enabled the use of joined up strategy where the impact of interventions could be measured.
For 2016/17 the school set itself a challenging target of halving the gap between PP students and non PP students. The table below shows that this was achieved on most measures. Through self evaluation of the interventions used the school is now refining the strategies for the 2017/18 cohort.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | |||||
| PP Students | Non PP Students | Gap | PP Students | Non PP Students | Gap | ||
| Number of students | 47 | 25 | 130 | – | 45 | 129 | – |
| A*-C% in English and Maths | 47 | 62 | 67 | -5 | – | – | – |
| 9-4% in English and Mathmatics | – | – | – | – | 64 | 67 | -3 |
| A*-C% in English | 63 | 77 | 83 | -6 | – | – | – |
| 9-4% in English | – | – | – | – | 76 | 78 | -2 |
| A*-C% in Mathematics | 60 | 69 | 72 | -3 | – | – | – |
| 9-4% in Mathematics | – | – | – | – | 67 | 71 | -4 |
| Total Attainment 8 | – | 48.8 | 51.64 | -3.1 | 41.52 | 45.17 | -3.6 |
| Average Total Progress 8 | – | -0.23 | -0.11 | -0.12 | Awaiting | Awaiting | Awaiting |
| % 5+ A*-C inc English and Mathematics | 45 | 56 | 64 | -8 | – | – | – |
| % 5+ A*-C inc English and Mathematics 9-4 | – | – | – | – | 58 | 64 | -6 |
| % Achieving the E-BACC | 10 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 24 | 24 | 0 |
*Provisional
The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is paid to schools in addition to the main school budget. It is a per-student payment and was introduced to address the perceived inequalities between children who are currently eligible for free school meals (FSM), have been eligible for FSM at any point in the last 6 years (Ever 6), children looked after by the local authority (CLA) and children from service families.
Use of the funding is at the school’s discretion and is monitored by the Headteacher and Governors. The funding supports our work with PP students in a systematic way, with careful prioritisation and due attention to students’ specific and often individual needs. We actively identify all eligible students so that staff know exactly who they are and what their needs are. Each member of staff is responsible for his / her group of PP students’ progress and this is reflected in each department development plan. Data is used to agree strategies and review their impact carefully. PP data is scrutinised, twice a term, at whole school level and departmental level.
We are an inclusive school and at times, the provision on offer may benefit a wider group of students; it is important that support is fully integrated into the school’s systems and may be accessed by a large number of students. Some of the funding was used to recruit staff to posts that are crucial to the well-being and happiness of all our students and most specifically those who have the greatest needs.
2017 to 2018
The school is committed to continuing to raise the attainment and rate of progress of all Pupil Premium students and closing the attainment gap further between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students. To achieve this the school identifies individual barriers to learning.
Through self-evaluation in 2017 two immediate barriers to learning were identified. These form part of the actions for 2017 to 2018 and are outlined below:
- To ensure first wave teaching meets the needs of Pupil Premium students. Impact will be measured through analysis of data comparing the difference in progress and attainment of Pupil Premium and non-Pupil Premium students at each assessment point, six times a year.
- To ensure that Pupil Premium students have at least good attendance (96%). Pupil Premium attendance is tracked fortnightly with the pastoral team monitoring effectiveness of interventions.
The impact of the Pupil Premium strategy is reviewed fortnightly by the Raising Attainment Panel (RAP), half termly by the Senior Leadership Team, annually by the Governors (Staff and Student Support Committee) and reviewed through the school self evaluation process in July-September 2018.
Associated actions and costs are presented in the Pupil Premium – Summary plan, please see link below.
Pupil Premium Plan 2017-18
2016 to 2017
For 2016 to 2017 the school received £108,460 Deprivation Pupil Premium funding. This was in support of 116 students, 13.3% of the cohort.
The school is committed to continuing to raise the attainment and rate of progress of all Pupil Premium students, closing the attainment gap further between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students. In achieving this the school is investigating with each student their individual barrier to their learning.
Through self- evaluation in 2016 two immediate barriers to learning were identified. These form part of the actions for 2016 to 2017 and are outlined below:
- To ensure first wave teaching meets the needs of Pupil Premium students.
- Impact will be measured through analysis of data comparing the difference in progress and attainment of pupil premium and non pupil premium students at each assessment point, six times a year.
- To ensure that Pupil Premium students have at least good attendance (96%).
- Pupil Premium attendance is tracked fortnightly with the pastoral team monitoring effectiveness of interventions.
The impact of the Pupil Premium strategy is reviewed fortnightly by the Raising Attainment Panel (RAP), half termly by the senior leadership team, annually by the governors (staff and student support committee) and reviewed through the school self evaluation process in July-September 2018.
Associated actions and costs are presented in the Pupil Premium – Summary plan, please see link below.
