Pupil Funding
Rationale
Pear Tree School is committed to ‘Achieving the best we can in everything we do’; ensuring all of our learners can achieve their true potential regardless of the many barriers to learning they may face. We make it our duty to identify potential barriers to learning for individual and groups of pupils and work creatively and innovatively to remove these barriers. We recognise that socio-economic factors are one of the many factors that can hinder pupil progress, attainment and ultimately affect life chances and are therefore committed to planning a pupil premium strategy that will enable all of our pupils to realise their true potential
Our school recognises that not all pupils who are eligible for pupil premium are underachieving, while some pupils may be underachieving and not eligible for pupil premium funding. It is school policy to plan, adapt and prepare for any individual, or group, in which any area of under-performance is evident. Our school does not use this policy to displace current strategies to intervene and support its pupils. Some pupils may be achieving well, but will be entitled to funding to enhance their future educational aspirations and achievements.
Background
The pupil premium is a government initiative that targets extra money at pupils from deprived backgrounds. Research shows that pupils from deprived backgrounds underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers so funding has been allocated to narrow the gap for all pupils.
The Government has used pupils entitled to free school meals (FSM), looked after children and service children as indicators of deprivation, and have provided a fixed amount of money for schools per pupil, based on the number of pupils eligible for FSM.
Aims
- To provide all pupils with fair and equal opportunities to achieve and excel in all areas of the curriculum, communication and personal and social development; using and applying the most effective pedagogy, supported by use of additional, delegated funding.
- To work in partnership with families and pupils eligible for pupil premium, to plan, monitor and evaluate support and intervention in order to secure individual progress and achievement.
- To work with external partners and organisations to provide additional support for the social, emotional, health and wellbeing of all pupils with potential barriers to leaning and achievement.
- To ensure governors fulfil statutory responsibilities to make effective use of pupil premium funds in order to impact positively on pupils’ achievement and attainment.
Systems, procedures and practice
Under the strategic leadership of the headteacher, the operational management of the school’s policy for pupil premium is led by the deputy headteacher. The deputy headteacher is responsible for:
- Identifying pupils eligible for FSM (supported by admin staff);
- Identifying barriers to learning for all identified pupils;
- Ensuring appropriate strategies are in place to support individual pupils/groups of pupils;
- Analysing pupil progress data to identify any gaps between groups of/individual pupils and implementing strategies/interventions to close this gap;
- Writing the Pupil Premium Strategy, ensuring this is shared with whole school staff, governors and uploaded to the website.
Allocating funding to interventions; - Evaluating/reviewing the Pupil Premium Strategy and measuring impact of interventions;
- Providing termly pupil premium progress reports for the headteacher and governors;
- Providing appropriate support and guidance for staff when planning pupil premium targets and support;
- Liaising with external partners and agencies, where necessary;
- Ensuring a whole school approach to narrowing the gap for all pupils.
School Business Manager
Alongside the deputy headteacher, the school business manager provides support by:
- Ring-fencing funding;
- Monitoring delegation of funding for pupil premium;
- Managing the pupil premium budget and providing regular updates to the deputy headteacher on spending and changes to the allocated budget;
- Providing details of how premium funding is spent to the finance committee.
Class teachers
To ensure a whole school approach to narrowing the gap for all pupils, class teachers are responsible for:
- Knowing which of their pupils are eligible for premium funding and how the funding is used to improve outcomes for them;
- Understanding the barriers to learning all pupils face and how these can be overcome;
- Monitoring attendance for all pupils and highlighting any concerns to the deputy headteacher;
- Measuring progress regularly and identifying when a pupil is not making expected progress;
- Working with the deputy headteacher to identify strategies/interventions to remove barriers to learning for identified pupils and evaluating impact;
- Providing feedback to senior leaders on pupil progress.
Governors
Pupil premium is a standing item on the standards and effectiveness committee. The link governor, Anne Hogan, is part of this committee and acts on behalf of the governors to monitor and review the progress and impact of pupil premium funding. The governors are responsible for ensuring:
- An appropriate pupil premium strategy is in place that is regularly reviewed and evaluated/updated annually;
- The school website meets statutory requirements for reporting on pupil premium;
- The school is monitoring the progress of all groups of pupils, including pupil premium, and implementing appropriate interventions as appropriate;
- They are confident in asking questions and providing challenge to senior leaders on pupil premium.
For more detailed information on how we narrow the gap for all pupils, please see our Pupil Premium Strategy, provision mapping and our narrowing the gap document. All three documents can be found on the school website.
This policy will be reviewed annually.
Date for next review: Autumn 2023