Pupil Premium
PUPIL PREMIUM
Diminish the difference
At Chiltern, we aim to be a community of learning where every child is valued as an individual and will develop self-respect and self-confidence, alongside a passion of learning. We have high ambitions and aspirations for all.
Main Aims & Aspirations
- To improve teaching and learning for all, especially for Pupil Premium funded children
- To reduce the gap in achievement by adding greater progress than non-PP
- To give increased feedback to PP children making sure they are clear of their next steps
- To improve the tracking of PP children’s progress and attainment
- To increase the amount of times a week a PP child is heard read and practice multiplication facts
- To increase the communication to, and the involvement with, PP parents
- To ensure that our vulnerable children have full access to all activities in and after school
We have directed resources to areas that we feel will have the most impact, based on the knowledge or our staff and children and research carried out by our SLT on the works of John Hattie, NFER and The Sutton Trust.
Pupil Premium Policy
Recognising the need to improve the performance of disadvantaged pupils, the Government introduced the pupil premium in 2011. This allocates specific funding to schools for each pupil from a disadvantaged background.
The pupil premium is an allocation of additional funding provided to schools to support specific groups of children who are vulnerable to possible underachievement. These include pupils who are entitled to free school meals, those Looked After by the Local Authority and children of armed service personnel. The intended effect of this funding is to accelerate progress, raise attainment and support the pupils in the participation of activities in the wider curriculum.
Disadvantage has a big influence on pupils’ life chances. As the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s 2014 ‘State of the Nation’ report highlights, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are: twice as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) and at higher risk of ending up in poverty as adults.
Put simply, a child’s socio-economic background – things they can’t choose like the street they grew up on and how much their parents earn – have too much of an impact on how well they do at school and the choices they have later in life. - Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, November 2015, DfE
The pupil premium is allocated with schools able to decide how the additional funding should be spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils. All schools are required to report on the amount of funding received, how this is being allocated and the impact of any additional support or provision.
Pupil Premium funding represents a proportion of our school budget and this policy outlines how we will ensure it is spent to maximum effect. Funding will be used by the federation to address any underlying inequalities between children eligible by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most.
At Chiltern, we believe that all children should achieve well and so we target spending to ensure we enable identified children to make the most of their education, whilst helping them become well rounded individuals through the provision of wider experiences. Through some of the initiatives we plan, such as those focused on raising the quality of teaching we expect all of our children to benefit, though we never lose sight of our eligible children.
At Chiltern, we believe that the key to success in life is to have choices, and that by accessing education, children succeed in gaining more choices. Children who may be seen as vulnerable have as much right to access high quality education as children more fortunate. The funding we receive is clearly targeted to allow every child the opportunity to be the best they can be.
Our annual planning shows changes to how we spend the money as we aim to reach every vulnerable child. The plan can be accessed on the website, and is updated annually when our new funding arrives.
The Governing Body will consider the information provided and will ensure that there is an annual statement to the parents on the school website outlining how the pupil premium funding has been used to address the issue of closing the gap for pupils eligible for pupil premium.
Key Principles
By following the key principles below, based on the NFER Building Blocks for Success, we believe we can maximise the impact of our pupil premium spending:
Whole school ethos of attainment for all
We will provide a culture where:
• Staff believe in ALL children
• There are “no excuses” made for underperformance
• Staff adopt a “solution-focused” approach to overcoming barriers
• Staff support children to develop “growth” mind-sets towards learning
Meeting individual learning needs
We will ensure that:
• All staff are aware of who pupil premium and vulnerable children are
• All teaching staff are involved in the analysis of data so they know strengths and weaknesses within cohorts
• All pupil premium children benefit from the funding, not just those who are underperforming
• Underachievement at all levels is targeted (not just lower attaining children)
• Children’s individual needs are considered carefully so that we provide support for those children who could be doing “even better if…”
High Quality teaching for all
We will continue to ensure that all children across the school receive good or outstanding teaching by:
• Setting high standards
• Addressing any within school variance
• Sharing good practice within the school and drawing on external expertise
• Providing high quality CPD
• Improving assessment through regular whole-school or phase moderation sessions.
• Ensuring that all children know what their targets are and how they can achieve them.
• Using research (such as the Sutton Trust Toolkit) to support us in determining the strategies that will be most effective
Addressing behaviour and attendance
We will maximise the time children have to “catch up” through:
• Improving attendance and punctuality
• Providing earlier intervention (KS1 and EYFS)
• Providing small group or 1:1 tuition where it is needed
• Extended learning out of school hours e.g. ‘Cooking Club’
• Providing access to pastoral support, such as ELSA and FIEPS 4
Deploying staff effectively
We will ensure that the additional support we provide is effective by:
• Looking at the individual needs of each child and identifying their barriers to learning
• Ensuring additional support staff and class teachers communicate regularly
• Using team leaders to ensure high quality interventions across their phases
• Matching the skills of the support staff to the interventions they provide
• Working with other agencies to bring in additional expertise
• Recognising and building on children’s strengths to further boost confidence
• Providing opportunities for Emotional Literacy Support
• Providing support for parents
Data driven and responding to evidence
We will ensure that:
• A wide range of data is used – achievement data, children’s work, observations, learning walks, case studies and staff, parent and pupil voice.
• Assessment data is collected half termly so that the impact of interventions can be monitored regularly
• Assessments are closely moderated to ensure they are accurate
• Pupil Progress Meetings are held termly and the identification of vulnerable groups of pupils is reviewed
• Regular feedback about performance is given to children and parents
• Interventions are adapted or changed if they are not working
• A governor is given responsibility for pupil premium
• The SLT maintains an overview of pupil premium spending
Clear and responsive leadership
When reporting about pupil premium funding we will include:
• Number of children currently receiving pupil premium funding
• An overview of support and allocation
• Performance of pupils
• Case studies (pastoral support, individualised interventions)
• Implications for pupil premium spending the following year
• A summary of the impact of pupil premium grant
• An overview of spending
• Learning in the curriculum
• Social, emotional and behavioural issues
• Enrichment beyond the curriculum
• Families and community
The overarching principle at Chiltern Primary School will be to:
Diminish the difference