The Pupil Premium was introduced by the Coalition government in April 2011 to provide additional funding for disadvantaged pupils. The premium was introduced because disadvantaged students tend to perform (attainment) below the level of “other” (non disadvantaged) students.
A pupil will be defined as disadvantaged if they are:
- Eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) or have been at any point in the last six years; or
- Looked after continuously for 1 day or more; or
- Adopted from care
What is the premium?
The amount provided by the government for disadvantaged pupils has grown over the years to total:
- £1,3345 for pupils in year groups reception to Year 6 recorded as ‘ever 6 free school meals (FSM)
- £995 for pupils in Year groups 7 to 11 as ‘ever 6 FSM0
- £2,345 Looked after children (LAC) in year groups reception to Year 11
- £2,345 previously LAC in year groups reception to Year 11
- £310 pupils with parents in the regular armed services
Richard Barnes Academy (Primary and Secondary) for 2020/2021 = £105,555
The Pupil Premium is for disadvantaged students; its allocation has no relation to a pupils’ ability or prior attainment.
School accountability for the Pupil Premium
The pupil premium is paid to schools as they are best placed to assess what additional provision their pupils need and therefore what the funding might best be used for.
Ofsted inspections (Government’s method of assessing the performance of a school) report on how the schools’ use of the funding affects the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils with particular focus toward;
- The attainment of the pupils who attract the funding
- The progress made by these pupils
- The gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers; referred to as “others”
The “gap” that is referred to is the difference between the results of a school’s disadvantaged students and non-disadvantaged students (others) at GCSE level (attainment in year 11).
At the Richard Barnes Academy, whilst we appreciate the importance of examination success, our focus is also concerned with developing confident and resilient young people who feel assured in everything that they do. We believe that if our disadvantaged students are good learners then the results will come.
Our approach to Pupil Premium
Richard Barnes Academy is committed to the educational success and achievement of all of our learners and we recognise that some students may need additional resources and interventions to help them achieve their personal goals and ambitions. The essential point is to ensure that disadvantaged status does not hinder the potential of our students’ to achieve.
Pupil Premium Initiatives 2020/21
Training for staff – Research studies have shown that feedback has a particularly positive effect on disadvantaged students’ progress. Dedicated professional development time for all teaching staff has been devoted to exploring and increasing the use of strategies that have most significant impact on disadvantaged students.
Dedicated Pupil Premium Champions – The Academy employs the services of an external pupil premium consultant and has a senior leader who is responsible for the pupil premium and the progress of disadvantaged students. These roles are critical in ensuring that the pupil premium is directed appropriately and that the Academy is responsible for its actions.
PIXL – The Academy works with this organisation to further raise the levels of self-esteem and confidence in all our students, with a particular focus on pupil premium students.
GCSE POD – GCSEPod is the perfect resource to help our learners learn, retain and recall all the information they need to achieve their GCSE goals. GCSEPod provides 3-5 minute long audio-visual content, written by subject experts, to engage learners with a range of subjects.
Lexonik Literacy Intervention – Lexonik is designed to rapidly improve literacy; developing vocabulary, academic language, comprehension skills, spelling and confidence.
School Counsellor – A counsellor has been employed to work with pupil premium students in supporting their emotional and social wellbeing.
Accounting for the Pupil Premium at Richard Barnes Academy
It is very important for all schools to clearly and effectively account for their pupil premium and detail how the money has been used. Schools who cannot account effectively for the use of their pupil premium will be unable to gain an “outstanding” rating under the Ofsted criteria.
The Pupil Premium Impact Cost Evaluation is a detailed account of how the Academy allocated its pupil premium during the academic year 2019 – 20.