Welcome from Mrs Temple-Brown
The Pupil Premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. The DFE has given us the freedom to use the Pupil Premium as we see fit, based on our knowledge of our pupils' needs.
At Ogbourne, we use this additional funding judiciously to support a variety of strategies to best meet the needs of each individual child for whom the grant funding was allocated, and constantly review and assess the impact this is having on our children. These strategies include:
- high quality, inclusive teaching.
- precision teaching
- focused support (either individually or alongside children of a similar level) from experienced teachers and skilled teaching assistants, both in class and small groups.
- carefully targeted resources known to raise attainment.
- personalised support including pastoral support for individual pupils and their families, to meet their needs.
- supporting parents to fund clubs and trips.
All our interventions are highly targeted over a period of time, according to individuals’ needs and are impact tracked. If you would like to find out more, please speak to myself, Mrs Crump or your child's class teacher.
Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is provided for schools to support pupils from low-income families and looked after children. Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. Schools also receive money for children whose parents are serving in the armed forces.
Parents of Ogbourne School, whose children are eligible for the grant, are invited to come into school to talk to staff about how the grant is going to be spent. Parents are then kept updated with progress as part of the usual parent evenings and report writing systems.
Any parents who wish to know more, please pop into school and see either Mrs Crump, Mrs Temple-Brown or your child's class teacher.
Is My Child Eligible For Extra Money?
All children who currently qualify for free school meals based on their family circumstances are entitled to pupil premium. This applies if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Universal credit (provided you have a net income of £7400 or less)
- Income support
- Income-based jobseekers’ allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of state pension credit
- Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less
Children who are or have been in care, and children who have a parent who is or was in the armed forces, are also entitled to pupil premium.In addition, pupils who have qualified for free school meals on the above grounds in the past, but are no longer eligible, continue to receive pupil premium for six years.
Excalibur Pupil Premium Statement
What is the Pupil Premium?
The Pupil Premium is additional funding for Reception children through to aged 16 that is allocated to schools
and academies to help support socially disadvantaged students of all abilities. Its purpose is to close the
attainment gap between those identified as Pupil Premium and their peers.
Background
The Pupil Premium targets extra funding for those from deprived backgrounds. Research shows these pupils underachieve compared to their peers. The premium is provided in order to support these more vulnerable groups of pupils to reach their potential.
The Government have used pupils entitled to Free School Meals (FSM), children in service personnel families, Children Looked After (CLA) and children who have left local authority care as an indicator for deprivation and have provided an additional fixed amount of money to schools per pupil to further support their education.
The Government has not dictated to schools how to spend this money,but are clear that schools need to employ strategies that they know will support these pupils to increase their attainment and narrow the gap.
Policy Statement
All members of staff, governors and the Trust Central Team and Board accept responsibility for socially disadvantage pupils and are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs within a supportive environment. As with every child in our care, a child who is considered to be socially disadvantaged is valued, respected and entitled to develop their full potential, irrespective of need.
The Trust is funded for a high number of Pupil Premium students. The number of pupils in each school is highly variable. Each school has determination and oversight of their own Pupil Premium spend. Whilst some of these funds are directed towards distinct interventions, the majority of the pupil premium grant is targeted to ensure the highest quality of teaching for these pupils.
The strategic leadership team of each school will maintain an on-going programme of support and monitoring for children and young people eligible for Pupil Premium support. This programme will be subject to oversight from the Local Governing Body and the Trust Board.
All staff have a responsibility in providing the best possible provision for young people. In doing so they have a responsibility to monitor progress and adapt planning and teaching to ensure these students maximize their progress. It should be noted there is no substitute for high quality classroom teaching. The Sutton Trust and EEF research clearly indicate the importance of in class provision and support. This research indicates that disadvantaged pupils benefit greatly from the highest standards of teaching: equally they are disproportionally affected by poor quality teaching.
Reporting
It will be the responsibility of the designated member of the Leadership Team to produce a report to senior staff and to Governors which includes:
- An outline of the provision in place to support pupil premium pupils/students
- The progress of pupils/students supported by pupil premium funding
- An evaluation of the programme including the impact of initiatives and personnel
- A plan for the academic year that links funding to interventions
The Local Governing Body and the Principal will ensure that the website includes the Excalibur strategy plan and review for the school.
The Director of Strategy will report to the board that all schools are compliant regarding their websites in December each year.
Barriers to Learning
The Trust have identified a number of barriers to learning which need to be overcome in order for all children and young people to make progress and succeed.
The key areas the Trust have focused their schools and training around are:
- Literacy
- Speech & Language Development
- Emotional & Behavioural Development and Support
- Attendance & Punctuality
- Resilience & High Aspirations
- Special Educational Needs – a high proportion of pupil premium pupils are also identified as SEN
Whole Trust pupil premium reviews and impact assessments at school and Trust level indicate that this early focus is proving successful with key gaps between pupil premium pupils and those nationally being overcome and/or closing rapidly.
- Literacy
- Speech and language development
- Emotional and behavioural development and support
- Attendance and punctuality
- Resilience and high aspirations
- Special Educational Needs – a high proportion of pupil premium pupils are also identified as SEN
Whole Trust pupil premium reviews and impact assessments at school and Trust level indicate that this early focus is proving successful with key gaps between pupil premium pupils and those nationally being overcome and/or closing rapidly.
Inclusion & Pupil Premium 2022-23
Mrs Temple-Brown, a teacher in school, works with our Pupil Premium children. Her role, however, is not just to facilitate high quality group work for pupils eligible for the grant. Using money from other sources, we are also using her to support children throughout the school as group work is normal practice within the school. We review our practices and outcomes on a termly basis and work with the children and their parents to ensure the children are achieving well and that they are happy and engaged in learning.
At the start of the year, parents of children who are eligible for the grant are reminded of this; they are given information about how their child is being supported and they are invited to come into school and talk to the class teacher if they want any further information. Parents then have the opportunity to review and discuss their child’s progress as part of our three parent evening opportunities during the year. In addition, we operate an open-door policy which means that all staff are normally available after school to discuss more immediate concerns. We also provide a school report at the end of the year.