BACKGROUND

The ‘Pupil Premium’ is a government initiative that targets extra money to enhance the support and opportunities for pupils from disadvantaged or deprived backgrounds who, research shows, underachieve as compared to their peers. This premium, which specifically targets low income families (as defined by FSM eligibility) and Looked After Children (LAC), is provided in order to support these pupils in reaching their full potential.

Since April 2011, the ‘Pupil Premium’ has provided targeted school funding for disadvantaged pupils. The government have used pupils entitled to free school meals as an indicator for deprivation and have deployed a fixed amount of money to schools, per pupil, based on the number of pupils eligible for FSM:

• £1480 primary-aged pupils
• £2570 for all looked-after chn & adopted chn

Schools have the freedom to choose the interventions that they consider to be most effective and cost-effective, but are required to publish on-line:

• the school’s pupil premium allocation for the current year.
• details of how we intend to spend the allocation.
• details of how we spent the previous academic year’s allocation.
• how it made a difference to the attainment of these children.

AIMS

All members of Braybrook staff and governors are responsible for and wholly committed to meeting the pastoral, social and academic needs of EVERY child, within a caring environment. This is central to the school’s ethos, in supporting the growth of each and every individual within our whole school community. As with every child in our care, a child who is deemed to be “socially disadvantaged” is valued, respected and entitled to develop to his / her true potential, irrespective of need.

PROVISION

To best support the good progress of our pupils, at Braybrook Primary Academy we:

• ensure that teachers know who their disadvantaged pupils are
• ensure that teachers are held responsible and accountable for accelerating progress to close the attainment gap
• use rigorous tracking and analysis of data to monitor progress and quickly identify early signs of under-achievement
• use research based evidence to identify and target effective interventions which best suit the needs of our children
• use specialist teaching staff for 1:1 and small group interventions
• monitor and evaluate impact through the analysis of pupil results
• involve governors in planning and evaluating
• give systematic feedback to pupils about their successes and targets for continued development.

Our current priorities at Braybrook Primary Academy are:

• to target additional support to address under-achievement, accelerate progress and close the attainment gap to their peers.
• to provide experiences in order to broaden horizons, for pupils eligible for FSM.
• to provide specialist support to aid the social and emotional development and welfare of our children, through counselling sessions, social skills groups and work in small nurture groups.
• to forge positive home/school links with specifically targeted and potentially vulnerable families.

The governors recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for FSM. Therefore, the governors reserve the right to allocate the pupil premium to support any pupil or group of pupils that the school has legitimately recognised as being socially disadvantaged.

Termly ‘Pupil Progress Meetings’ ensure a shared responsibility and accountability for the rigorous tracking and assessing of every pupil’s progress, with a particular focus on those who are entitled to FSM. This includes monitoring the impact of interventions and additional targeted support in learning, as well as the monitoring of children’s social and emotional development, where nurture groups support children in removing their barriers to learning. The impact of such outcomes are reported regularly to the governing body in the Head Teacher’s Reports to governors.

REPORTING

It is the responsibility of the Head Teacher to produce regular reports for the governing body on:

• the progress made towards closing the gap, by year group, for socially deprived pupils.
• an evaluation of the cost effectiveness, in terms of the progress made by the pupils receiving the provision, when compared to other forms of support.

It is the responsibility of the Full Governing Body to ensure that an outline of the school’s progress towards closing the gap for socially disadvantaged pupils is reported to parents on an annual basis.

SUCCESS CRITERIA

Braybrook Primary Academy will:

• adopt a consistent whole school strategic approach to ‘Pupil Premium’ allocation.
• create a positive school atmosphere in which pupils’ differences are recognised and valued as full members of the school community; developing confident and independent learners.
• ensure an effective system for the identification, monitoring and analysis of FSM pupils’ progress.
• ensure high quality, targeted intervention and support for socially disadvantaged pupils.
• ensure that the vast majority of socially disadvantaged pupils meet their individual targets.
• forge positive home / school relationships which better support the needs of our pupils.