Pupil Premium Strategy 1617

We are required to report the amount of the school’s allocation from the pupil premium grant in respect of the current academic year; details of how it is intended that the allocation will be or has been spent; details of how the previous year’s allocation was spent, and the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school in respect of whom grant funding was allocated. Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium funding as they wish - but are held accountable, and must report on how the funding has been used to support these groups of children.

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. This also includes children who are in care (LAC).

At Sutton in Craven Community Primary School, we realise that not all children who are eligible for Free School Meals are socially disadvantaged, and also that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged will be registered or qualify for Free School Meals, be looked after or from service families. Therefore, we allocate Pupil Premium funding on a needs basis where we identify priority classes, groups or individuals.

Pupil Premium is used to help fulfil our vision and aims for all children and provide additional help and support for those children and families who may at times need something over and above the consistently good support we provide here.

In particular, over recent years we have:

  • Extended TA provision across the school to allow targeted support and wider interventions in the afternoons as well as the mornings. The clear focus is on enabling every child to reach their full potential from their respective starting points by enabling them to practice and consolidate their basic skills within smaller groups or 1:1 settings.
  • Funding a full time specialist Pastoral Support Assistant to provide personalised, specialist support on a 1:1 and small group level for those pupils who need additional targeted support to narrow the gaps in their achievement and/or who require additional nurture support. 
  • Specialist staff training inc HLTA to provide early intervention in Early Years and Success @ Arithmetic training. 
  • Investment in additional resources including Numicon (maths resources) to support practical learning.
  • Subsidising after school clubs additional money towards school trips and Y6 residential places and equipment
  • Extra Curricular Clubs for targeted groups and those that require assistance with funding
  • 1:1 Tuition opportunities extended for pupils in KS2
  •  Y1, Y2 and Y6 Booster Sessions
  • 1:1 mentoring with targeted structured individual support

As an overview, Pupil Premium provides targetted support in the following areas:-

Social and emotional support, for example:
• Nurture Groups
• Small group social interaction activities
• Social communication intervention
• Transition activities
• Fast reaction and proactive  social and emotional support
• Playtime groups

Learning interventions
• One to one teaching
• Literacy interventions
• Numeracy interventions and numeracy groups
• Phonics
• Learning support
• Screening for specific difficulties

Funding for educational visits, after school and holiday clubs, for example:
• Residential
• Curriculum trips
• Visitors into school
• Curriculum Enrichment activities
• Holiday clubs
• Homework club

Family liaison, for example:
• Staff with specific responsibilities for groups of pupils, such as LAC
• Attendance at and involvement with LA projects
• Regularly updated website
• Parent support advisor and working closely with specific families
• Fast reaction assessment and screening of new pupils to school
• Transition activities and development of computerised systems to ensure quality tracking information                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Use of targeted funding in this way is highly personalised to individual children and discussed with families to ensure needs are targeted as specifically as possible.

The leadership team use the school’s robust tracking system to establish a clear picture of the progress made by each child in receipt of pupil premium funding, and to critique the success of interventions and their future place in the timetable.