Background

The pupil premium is a Government initiative that targets extra money for pupils from deprived background, which research shows, under achieve compared to their non-deprived peers. The premium is provided in order to support these pupils in reaching their potential.

 

The Government have used the number of Reception to Yr 11 pupils entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) as an indicator for deprivation, and have deployed a fixed amount of money to schools per pupil, based on the number of pupils registered for FSM over the last 6 years.

 

This fixed amount of money will increase every year of the course of this current Parliament. At St Patrick’s we use the indicator of those eligible for FSM as our target children to “narrow the gap” regarding attainment.

 

The Government are not dictating how schools should spend this money, but are CLEAR that schools will need to employ the strategies that they know will support their pupils to increase their attainment and to narrow the gap.” Schools and governors will be accountable for narrowing the gap, and school performance tables include new measures that show the attainment of pupils receive the pupil premium compared to their peers.

 

We also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for FSM. We reserve the right to allocate PP funding to support any pupils or groups of pupils across the school, who we identify have needs. Therefore PP money is used to enhance their life chances and experiences

 

At St Patrick’s we have “high” aspirations and ambitions for our children and we believe that no child should be left behind. We strongly believe that is not about where you come from but what you can achieve that makes the difference between success and failure. We know that pupils learn more effectively if they feel valued, happy and secure and we have established a caring positive environment in which individuals can flourish.

 

Pupil Premium Awards 2016 – Sam Gyimah MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Childcare and Education.

‘The reason you have been selected is that you are one of the high achieving schools in the country in terms of the attainment and progress of your disadvantaged pupils since 2011. It is clear that you and your staff have provided your disadvantaged pupils with a good start in life and prepared them well for secondary school. I would like to congratulate your governors, parents and pupils for their hard work and success, and thank you for your leadership in making such a difference to the future success of your pupils.’

 

Background

St Patrick’s is an oversubscribed Catholic Primary, based in Toxteth, Liverpool – one of the most highly deprived areas of the country. The area notoriously has a problem with drugs, gangs and crime, many of our children witnessing this on a regular basis, or being directly affected by this activity. As a result, our children enter school below national expectation with the majority being significantly below national expectations. The socio-economic background of our area is one of high numbers of unemployment. Some of our families do not value education, many of them having limited educational experiences; often never completing formal qualifications. This leads to limited life chances and, to some of our families living in extreme poverty with a lack of aspirations or feeling the need to invest in education.

 

Staff

It is our strong belief that recruitment of the right people in all areas of school has majorly contributed to the success of our school. We have very talented and able staff that have shared and are willing to share with other colleagues and schools. As an IIP award School we create an environment where all are given support to achieve the schools and their own personal professional targets which will benefit the children in our care. There are certain priorities that have been identified which we feel will enable our pupils to fulfil their Mission Statement.

 

Enabling all our Pupils to be Successful

Pupils are monitored against age related expectations of attainment in Reading, Writing and Maths. Intervention groups are an essential part of the strategies we use to ensure that all children make significant progress including SEN and G&T whilst narrowing the gap of PP against non PP. The PP will be spent on ensuring that all pupils across the school are making progress in the key skills needed to succeed and they are properly prepared for the next stage of their education.

 

The most important skills are:-

• Reading
• Writing (including spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• Maths (highly focused on using and applying number)

 

Without these skills pupils will not reach their potential. Within the curriculum we pay for additional staffing which can help us design learning which is personalised to the needs of the individual and to groups of learners. Throughout their time in our schools or at whatever stage they come to us we will intervene to support pupils who to ensure they achieve their full potential (intervention groups for SEN and G&T).

 

Supporting Pupils Well-Being and Behaviour

A significant number of our children’s lives have had major traumas which will hinder their emotional well being which can cause them to be “difficult to engage.” We believe that employing high quality staff to help our pupils (and their parents) overcome their particular barriers to learning is essential. There are many pupils who rely on this to succeed at school and without this personal approach will not feel able to access all that school can offer them. This type of work means supporting pupils emotionally but also ensuring that they strive to reach their full potential. At times this means ensuring they have a breakfast each day or they access our extended school provision even during holiday periods so we create a “safe” haven for them to thrive in. We also employ additional staff to focus on pastoral care to ensure health and well being of our pupils. We recognise this impacts on children’s to attitudes towards school life and learning.

 

Ensuring Equality of Access to the Curriculum

A key aspect of our ethos at St Patrick’s is that we need to develop memorable learning experiences. This includes curriculum trips and visits. We also believe that all pupils benefit greatly from residential experiences. Our enrichment programme is extensive and inclusive. The PP will be used to support eligible pupils whose families are on low income to access this entire programme. Similarly whilst our residential trips have been designed to be very cost effective we understand that for some pupils this still could be a barrier. A key part of our mission statement focuses on developing the talents of the pupils. We believe that talents such as sport, music, dance, drama, will only develop into a lifelong passion by providing a high quality extended curriculum. The PP will also help all pupils access this curriculum and help pupils discover their talents.

 

Reporting

It will be the responsibility of the PP Champion to report to the Governors Curriculum and Finance Committees on the impact that the PP money is having on the school and with regards to narrowing the gap.

 

Success Criteria

The evaluation of this policy is based on how “quickly” St Patrick’s can “narrow the gap” between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

The success criteria for the PP Policy are:-

 

• Early intervention and support for socially disadvantaged children.

 

• The vast majority of social disadvantaged children will meet their individual targets.

 

• Having an effective system for identifying, assessing and monitoring pupils.

 

• Create a positive atmosphere in which pupil differences are recognised and valued as full members of St Patrick’s Primary School.

 

• Confident and independent learners.

 

• Effective parental support establishing “collaboration” with and for the children.

 

Policy written by: H Jones

Date of policy: September 2018  Ratified by Governors 01.10.18

Review date: September 2021