Pupil Premium

Explanation, Allocation, Spending Plans and Impact

What is it?

The Pupil Premium is an additional grant of money provided to schools by the government aimed at reducing the educational effects of disadvantage. In 2015-16 it was worth £1320 per eligible child. This is unchanged for 2016-17. There is an additional amount called 'Pupil Premium Plus', which is targeted at children who have been adopted or who are in  the care of a 'Special Guardian'. This is worth £1900 per pupil.

Who is eligible?

The Pupil Premium is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for Free School Meals in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months. It is also paid on the basis of pupils who have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years.

A smaller amount is allocated to children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces. This service premium is designed to address the emotional and social well-being of these pupils. We currently have no eligible pupils for this grant.

What is it for?

As a group, national data shows that children who have been eligible for FSM at any point in time have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible for FSM. (Note that this does not mean that all children are doing less well)

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) and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

In most cases the Pupil Premium is allocated to schools and is clearly identifiable. It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium is spent, since the government’s view is that they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.

For further information please visit:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/premium/b0076063/pp

What it is worth to St Michael’s

In 2015-16 there were 97 children eligible for Pupil Premium, and 6 children eligible for Pupil Premium Plus. We had two service children. Our total allocation was £140040

Spending priorities

Our priorities are to support those children who qualify in the following ways:

For details of last year's spending and the impact on pupils, please click here:

Review of 2015-16 Pupil Premium Spending

Current issues for St Michael's

Achievement

When children start school, there is a large gap between children eligible for pupil premium and those not eligible. This is particularly evident in their speech and language skills, and this impacts on the whole of their learning. By the end of Reception children in this group are less likely than their peers to reach the ‘good level of development’

In Year 1, fewer pupil premium pupils passed the phonics test than their peers.

By the end of Y2 there are still significant gaps between pupil premium children and their peers, particularly in writing.

In recent years these gaps have narrowed during the course of KS2. In 2014 & 2015, almost all pupils eligible for the pupil premium made expected progress in all areas, and in 2015 over a third exceeded that progress (see below)

2 levels progress in:   Reading    Writing    Maths

Pupil premium                100%        98%       96%

Non pupil premium          92%         88%       94%

3 levels progress in:  Reading   Writing   Maths

Pupil premium                31%        44%       44%

Non pupil premium         37%        37%       44%

In 2016 the attainment gap increased due to the demands of the new curriculum. 

Fewer pupil premium children reach the higher levels at both Key Stages. They are more likely to have difficulty with English than maths.

Most of the children supported by the pupil premium throughout the school are making similar progress to their peers due to effective support.  

Attendance

Attendance by Free School Meal children is 2.8% lower than their peers. This gap has increased slightly this year, although FSM attendance has increased by 0.1%

Participation

Without additional support, Pupil Premium children are much less likely to participate in activities that enrich the curriculum and stimulate learning. These activities include:

Participation in after-school clubs

Attendance at School Camp (Y5 & Y6)

Music Lessons

2016-17 Spending Plans

 If numbers of eligible children stay the same as last year we expect to receive around £140,000. Our aim is to maintain the most effective strategies from last year:

• Target children throughout the school for additional 1:1 or small group support for writing
• Provision of an additional maths teacher  in Key Stage 2 to allow smaller groupings
• Improve attendance  further - the more children are in school, the better they will do.
• Increase support for reading by employing an additional Reading Assistant
• Provide additional support for children in Reception so that they make better progress with their speech and language skills
• Continued support for pupils to access additional opportunities: school trips; camp; clubs; music tuition

 Further details of our 2016-17 plans can be found by clicking here

How are children’s needs identified?

Children’s attainment, progress and attendance are monitored regularly, and where issues arise children will be placed on appropriate support programmes. All children on FSM are eligible for support for Camp in Y5 and Y6, and may also have support for other trips/educational visits as needed. Our aim is that all children who attract this grant will benefit in some way from the grant, though clearly some may have a greater level of support than others depending on their needs.