Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium Grant at St. Anne’s

 

Attainment gaps between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their classmates from more affluent backgrounds are a problem at all stages of education from Nursery to University. According to research the highest early achievers from disadvantaged backgrounds can be overtaken by their lower ability peers from better off households by the age of seven.

 

This is because disadvantage can create some Barriers to Learning that children from affluent backgrounds are not exposed to. These barriers can affect higher and lower attaining Pupil Premium eligible pupils and the grant is used to address these inequalities and create a level playing field for all pupils in a school.

 

There are many barriers to learning for pupils who have not had the same life experiences as other children because of low income. These barriers can include:

• Poor Language skills
• Short term memory problems
• Poor Attendance
• Concentration difficulties
• Anger Management
• Issues with Parenting Skills
• Difficulties with handwriting and motor skills
• Lack of Motivation to learn
• Non Completion of Homework
• Emotional Difficulties
• Poor Behaviour
• Safeguarding Concerns
• Learning Difficulties
• Lack of Metacognition
• Lack of Stimulus
• Physical Disabilities
• No Access to Sporting Equipment or Opportunities

 

But there are many other factors that can affect pupil learning.

 

What is the Pupil Premium Grant?

The Government introduced the Pupil Premium Grant to support two key policies

• raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities to reach their potential
• supporting children and young people with parents in the regular armed forces

 

The DfE will allocate Pupil Premium Grant to schools and local authorities (who must allocate for each FTE pupil on the January school census) the following amounts:

• £1,320 per pupil for each Ever 6 FSM full time equivalent (FTE) pupil aged 4 and over in year groups reception to year 6, except where the pupil is allocated the LAC or post-LAC premium
• £935 per pupil for each Ever 6 FSM FTE in year groups 7 to 11, except where the pupil is allocated the LAC or post-LAC Premium
• £1,900 per pupil for each post-LAC in year groups reception to year 11
• £300 for each pupil aged 4 and over in year groups reception to year 11 who is either Ever 6 service child FTE or in receipt of pensions under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS)

 

 

The grant may be spent in the following ways:

• for the purposes of the school i.e. for the educational benefit of pupils registered at that school
• for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools or academies
• on community facilities e.g. services whose provision furthers any charitable purpose for the benefit of pupils at the school or their families, or people who live or work in the locality in which the school is situated

 

The grant does not have to be completely spent by schools in the financial year so some or all of it may be carried forward to future financial years.

 

At St. Anne’s we believe that our role is to provide a quality first education to ALL pupils no matter their background but we recognise that for children who are eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant (and also those children who have Special Educational Needs at the same time) they will need more support than the core curriculum offers. We do not generalise about pupils based on them being eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant – we focus on the individual learner and set highly aspirational targets for all so that every child meets their progress and attainment potential.

 

Schools determine how the Pupil Premium Grant is spent and at St. Anne’s it is primarily spent on securing excellence in teaching for all pupils. In addition to this we use the money to access external support agencies, provide resources and to subsidise activities that would ordinarily not be available without great cost to the parent. Schools will be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. The Government has introduced measures in the performance tables that will demonstrate the achievement of those disadvantaged pupils eligible for Pupil Premium.

Free School Meals

Pupils who are eligible Free School Meals are also eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant. It is important that if you think you might be eligible for free school meals you claim them. Since the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals, some parents think that because their child already receives a free meal it is not necessary for them to apply. This means that the school loses valuable income that can help many children.

 

St. Anne's does not automatically receive the Pupils Premium Grant, we only receive it if a child becomes eligible and only you can tell us this. Please complete the checking tool below to see if you might be eligible – if you are the school will be automatically notified and the grant will come into the school budget from the next payment point.

• Here is the link to use if you would like to check whether or not you might be eligible for Free School Meals   

Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.