Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools in addition to their main budgets to support schools across the country in reducing the attainment gap that currently exists between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. The Pupil Premium is paid to each school by a specific grant based on school census figures for pupils registered as eligible for FSM in reception to Year 11. Schools receive funding for pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years; children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months, and children of service personnel (this service premium is designed to address the emotional and social well-being of service personnel pupils).

The Government believes that the Pupil Premium is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and their peers. Each individual school is held accountable for how they use their Pupil Premium allocation, in order that the funding is targeted towards those pupils who need it the most.

It is for the school to decide how the Pupil Premium is spent. Each school is responsible for monitoring both the use of the funding an the impact it is having upon relevant pupils.

Objectives of Pupil Premium Funding

We aim to provide a culture where:

• Staff believe in all children
• There are no excuses made for underperformance
• Staff adopt an outcome focused approach to overcoming barriers to learning or to further challenge children
• Staff support children to develop their basic skills and aspirations towards being the best they can be.

Our key objective in using Pupil Premium Funding is to narrow the gap between vulnerable groups and their peers.

When making decisions about using Pupil Premium funding it is important to consider the context of the school and subsequent challenges faced.

Common barriers for disadvantaged children can be:

• Less support at home
• Weak language and communication skills
• Low attainment on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage
• More frequent behaviour difficulties
• Low aspirations
• Attendance and punctuality issues.

There may also be complex family situations that prevent children from making sustained progress. At Severnbanks Primary School, we recognise that these challenges are varied and there is no one size fits all, we therefore personalise learning for our pupils.