Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium is additional to main school funding and the government feels that this is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers. The funding is to tackle disadvantage and is targeted towards the pupils that need it most.
Pupil Premium is allocated to schools and is clearly identifiable. It is for schools to decide how it is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.
Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. However they will be accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low income families.
Key Facts
The Pupil Premium is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for FSM in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months.
At Woodchurch Road Academy, we have high aspirations and ambitions for our children and we believe that no child should be left behind. Our key objective in using the Pupil Premium Grant is to narrow the gap between pupil groups. We aim to ensure that all our pupils make good progress, but historically levels of attainment have been lower for FSM (eligible for free school meals) – this is also a national trend. We also realise that some vulnerable, socially disadvantaged children are not in receipt of Free School Meals, some of our Pupil Premium funding will be used to support these children also. Through targeted interventions we are working to eliminate barriers to learning and progress. For children who start school with low attainment on entry, our aim is to ensure that they make accelerated progress in order to reach age related expectations + as they move through the school. Our pupil premium grant is not just spent on an academic focus. The emotional/mental and social aspects of development are also a key focus. Essential support from school staff and ‘Place to be’ counselling service ensure that our children are ready to learn and support those children for which these may be a barrier to learning. Early identification of children with specific needs is essential and effective support put in place for them. Some pupils may receive a higher proportion of the funding according to their need.