Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium
Background
The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. 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 peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils that need it most.
The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.
Schools also receive funding for Looked After Children who have been looked after continuously for more than 6 months (fostered etc) and children of service personnel.
The government believes that headteachers and school leaders should decide how to use the Pupil Premium. They are held accountable for the decisions they make through:
- the performance tables which show the performance of disadvantaged pupils compared with their peers.
- the new Ofsted inspection framework, under which inspectors focus on the attainment of pupils groups, in particular those who attract the Pupil Premium.
- the new reports for parents that schools now have to publish online.
Chollerton First School’s Aims
- We will ensure that teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all the pupils and in particular those identified as being eligible for pupil premium.
- In making provision for those entitled to pupil premium, we recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged.
- We ensure that all pupils receiving pupil premium benefit from the funding, not just those children who are under-performing or of a lower ability.
Funding received
In 2020-2021, we received £2,345 Pupil Premium funding.
Barriers to educational achievement experienced by eligible pupils included:
- Low self-esteem.
- Poor oral language skills.
- Special Educational Needs.
- Limited opportunities and experiences outside of school.
- Difficulties with focus, concentration and resilience.
This funding was used towards the employment of 2 classroom assistants as follows:
- 10 hours per week to support children with literacy and mathematical activities, enabling them to develop concepts in these 2 areas.
- Support is also provided to a child to work on speech / sound pronunciation and also model social skills. This support will enable the child to socially interact appropriately and improve personal development.
- 5 hours per week to support another child with mathematical activities, to enable them to establish solid foundations with place value and number operations.
How can parents and carers contribute to the success of the Pupil Premium Scheme?
If your child is eligible for free school meals, it is worth registering them even if they're not going to have a school lunch or your child is in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 at present. It will have a direct impact on the funding and will maximize the support we can provide.
More information can be found below at the Northumberland County Council Website - see link below