Our intention is to ensure that all children, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face, develop into confident, resilient and determined learners prepared for the next stages in their learning. We hold high aspirations and are ambitious for all learners in all areas of the curriculum. The focus of our pupil premium strategy is to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve these goals, including securing excellent progress for those who are already high attainers.

Once we have assessed the performance of our disadvantaged pupils against national benchmarks, we examine what could be hindering the attainment and progress of those pupils who are below age-related expectations or any higher attainers who could be extended further. This will involve diagnosis of academic challenges, for example, identifying which pupils require additional support to develop literacy skills and in which specific areas.

We consider:

  • attendance data and levels of persistent absence, including internal absence from lessons;
  • attainment and programmes data;
  • teacher feedback on pupils’ levels of engagement and participation;
  • behaviour incidences and exclusions data;
  • pupil feedback;
  • reviews of pupil learning;
  • information on wellbeing, mental health, and safeguarding; and
  • information on access to technology and curricular materials.

 

We will consider all the challenges faced by our vulnerable pupils. The activities we have outlined in this statement are also intended to support their needs, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not. High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support. This is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap and, at the same time will benefit the non-disadvantaged pupils in our school. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that non-disadvantaged pupils’ attainment will be sustained and improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers.

 

To ensure they are effective we will:

  • ensure disadvantaged pupils are challenged in the work that they’re set
  • act early to intervene at the point need is identified
  • adopt a whole school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve

 

As a school, we keep a live database to monitor our pupil premium children’s needs, progress, attainment, social, emotional and mental health needs and to track attendance. This is centralised and supports our senior leadership conversations in supporting the right support for our children.

 

Our strategy supports:

  • Closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers
  • Ensuring all children receive quality first teaching each lesson
  • Providing targeted academic support for children who are not making the expected progress
  • Addressing non-academic barriers to attainment such as attendance, behaviour, well -being and cultural capital
  • Ensuring that the Pupil Premium Grant reaches the pupils who need it most