What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is a Government initiative that targets extra money for pupils who are in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) or have received FSM at some time, known as Ever6, in addition to the number of looked after children (including adopted), who attend the school.

The service premium, for children whose parents are serving in the armed forces, is designed to address the emotional and social well-being of these pupils.

The Pupil Premium is intended to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for FSM and their less disadvantaged peers by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most. The DfE have stated that schools have the right to spend this funding as they see fit based upon their knowledge of pupil needs.

Pupil Premium at Southbourne Junior School

At Southbourne Junior School, we strive to ensure that all pupils, irrespective of background or challenges they face, make good progress in their journey to achieve their full and unique potential.

Pupil premium funding is allocated following a needs analysis, which identifies priority classes, groups or individuals. Pupil voice is integral to the assessment process and ensures our approach is representative of our pupils, not based on assumptions about the impact of disadvantage. The activity outlined in this statement considers the challenges faced by vulnerable pupils and intends to raise standards for all pupils, whether they qualify for free school meals or not. The planned provision is informed by the latest documentation and research, predominately taken from the Education Endowment Foundation Toolkit (EEF), The Department for Education and Ofsted.

High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on ‘First and Best’, an expression of quality first teaching specifically for vulnerable children. Quality first teaching 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.

Our ultimate objectives for our disadvantaged pupils are:

Every child is a reader

Every child is a mathematician with number and calculation secure

Every child has had a rich and wide primary curriculum learning experience

Every child has raised aspirations and expectations of themselves for their future

We aim to do this through:

• A whole school culture, where all staff take responsibility for the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils and raise expectations of what they can achieve.
• Acting early to intervene at the point where needs are identified.
• Continued social, emotional and mental health support to develop resilience and ensure emotional well-being is not a barrier to learning.
• Entitlement and enrichment. A culturally rich education that goes beyond academic development through the provision of extracurricular activities that will enhance educational entitlement and personal development.

How can parents and carers contribute to the success of the Pupil Premium scheme?

Parent support and involvement is a key factor in raising standards. If you would like help or advice in supporting your child as always your first point of contact should be your child’s class teacher. Miss Lowrey is the Disadvantaged Lead and can be contacted through the school office should you require further information.

As a parent or carer of a child who is entitled to Pupil Premium, our parent-teacher consultations provide a good opportunity to review children’s progress and the intervention strategies that have been used.

If your child is eligible for Free School Meals, it is worth registering them, even if they are not going to have a school lunch. It will have a direct impact on the funding the school receives and will enable us to maximise the support we can provide. Please speak to the school office for support or help with this.