Pupil Premium Spending at St Matthew’s

 C of E Primary School

At St Matthew’s C of E Primary School we recognise the additional opportunities receiving the pupil premium funding has offered us in helping to further enhance the support we are able to provide for our children in receipt of Free School Meals and our Looked After Children.

Pupil Premium is therefore a key resource for ensuring the realisation of our inclusive and aspirational ethos, allowing each child to thrive within our overarching theme of Excellence Happiness and Achievement

We recognise that children in receipt of Free School Meals and therefore Pupil Premium money, may be of different abilities and therefore our support may be to:

• narrow the gap and raise attainment for groups of children who are at risk of falling behind their peers
• further challenge and support groups of children who are at or above age related expectations
• provide curriculum enrichment opportunities (including trips, clubs, visits)
• provide pastoral care and professional counselling

Staff at St Matthew’s have always been committed to meeting the needs of all learners. Our integrated skills based curriculum recognises the needs and experiences of our children and we personalise our approach as much as possible. We have continued staff development and regular, rigorous monitoring, to ensure our day to day teaching and learning meets the needs of each learner.

Pupil Premium money enables us to enhance these areas further.

• effective systems to track children’s achievement and progress to fulfil their potential
• data analysis to ensure provision is effective and interventions are targeted
• experienced teachers and support staff used to target identified children in a range of ways
• appropriate resources to meet individual needs

Pupil Premium funding is used to target individual and groups of children with identified needs, although we are mindful that at the same time it provides wider benefits for other children in the school.

All colleagues are aware which children in their class are in receipt of Pupil Premium and take responsibility for accelerating their progress. We are aware that the eligibility for Pupil Premium does not necessarily equate to low ability or additional educational needs.

We actively encourage families to talk to us about ways we have used Pupil Premium money to further support their child’s learning.

What is Pupil Premium and who is it for?

The Pupil Premium is a source of funding aimed at Reception to Year 11 pupils who are from low-income families and are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). This category now includes any child that has been registered for FSM in the past 6 years (known as ‘Ever6 FSM’).

The government White Paper stated “Pupils entitled to Free School Meals (are) only half as likely to achieve five good GCSEs as their peers”.

The funding also covers children in care aged 4 – 15 who have been looked after continuously for more than 6 months. A service premium has also been introduced for children whose parents are serving in the armed forces.

Schools are delegated ring-fenced funding based upon their numbers of children eligible for the Pupil Premium and are commissioned to use the funding to make a positive impact.

Schools are required to publish details of their Pupil Premium allocation,  how they plan to spend the allocation in the current year, how the previous year's allocation  was spent and the effect of the expenditure on the attainment of those pupils for whom the funding was allocated.

Pupil Premium

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 who need it most.

Schools are free to spend the Pupil premium as they see fit. However they are accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. Measures in the performance tables capture the achievement of those deprived pupils covered by the Pupil Premium. From September 2012, the Government requires schools to publish online information about how they have used the Premium. This ensures that parents and others are made fully aware of the attainment of pupils covered by the Premium.

For advice on how to claim free school meals see the download option below.