What is the Pupil Premium?
The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011. It is government funded financial support to raise the attainment of students who are ‘disadvantaged’. It is currently paid for students who
- are or have been eligible for free school meals within the last six years;
- have been in local authority care for one day or more;
- those who have left local authority care because of one of the following: adoption; a special guardianship order; a child arrangements order;
- have been continuously looked after by the local authority for more than six months.
(Students with parents in the armed services are eligible for the Service Premium).
Key Principles for the use of the Pupil Premium
- Alderbrook School never confuses eligibility for the Pupil Premium with low ability and focuses on supporting disadvantaged students to achieve the highest possible levels, both academically and pastorally
- The school thoroughly analyses which students are underachieving, particularly in English and Mathematics and the reasons for this
- The school draws upon its previous experiences in order to allocate funding to activities which are most likely to have a positive impact in raising attainment and progress of eligible students in our context
- The school uses achievement data regularly and robustly, to check the efficacy of interventions and techniques and makes adjustments accordingly
- The school ensures that a dedicated senior leader (an Assistant Headteacher), plus the Headteacher and Governing Body, have a clear overview of how funding is allocated. They review the difference it is making to the outcomes of students on a termly basis and in between data collections
- The school ensures that all subject teachers know which students are eligible for the Pupil Premium so that they can take responsibility for accelerating progress on an individual basis
- The school successfully uses Pupil Premium funding to tackle a range of issues, e.g. attendance, behaviour, confidence, resilience, reading, factors outside of school, effective teaching and learning, literacy support, targeted support, further enrichment and so on.
The impact of the use of Pupil Premium funding is measured and reviewed; Ofsted (April 2018) noted the School’s work in this area:
“The pupil premium and Year 7 catch-up premium are increasingly used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils and those who start at the school with weak literacy and numeracy skills. In addition to removing specific barriers to learning, leaders use the additional funding to ensure that disadvantaged pupils have access to a wide range of educational activities. There is a clear focus on broadening pupils’ horizons and raising their aspirations. School data for current cohorts shows that differences in progress between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils are diminishing.”
Alderbrook School’s Pupil Premium Funding in 2021/22 was used in the following ways:
- Recruitment and retention of specialist teachers and support staff so that students are taught as much as possible by those best able to educate them, as evidenced by the Sutton Trust and Education Endowment Foundation
- Funding an EWO to improve the attendance of Pupil Premium students
- Purchasing additional resources to support English and Mathematics as well as other curriculum subjects, for Pupil Premium students
- Support services such as counselling and life coaching
- Subsidising educational trips/visits for eligible students
- Subsidising extra-curricular opportunities both in and out of school
- Funding an independent Careers Advisor to support Pupil Premium students
The Governing Body rigorously monitors the progress of disadvantaged students and the impact of the school’s Pupil Premium spending.
What this looked like in more detail:
- Used the Pupil Premium funding to employ and retain specialist teachers and support staff so our students had the best possible staff available
- Identified Pupil Premium learners in lessons, tracked their progress and associated interventions, and considered the impact of these
- Senior / Middle Leaders led quality staff CPD
- Deputy Headteacher (DHT) monitored Pupil Premium students to maximise their performance and outcomes
- Smaller teaching groups in English and Mathematics, SSA support, spelling and reading workshops along with our Accelerated Reading Programme
- Employment of a specialist EWO to monitor attendance; a new TLR post holder within school to monitor, evaluate and celebrate attendance
- Additional pastoral support programmes, improving behaviour, anxiety, well-being with professional agencies
- Dedicated Year 11 Achievement Co-ordinator liaising with the Pupil Premium and DHT
- Funding used to facilitate educational interests both in and out of school for example: Music Lessons with Solihull Music Service
- Under allocated teachers worked with Pupil Premium students
- Morning Breakfast Club to support Pupil Premium students to start the day well
- GCSE Pod, Digital Theatre Plus, Duke of Edinburgh, sporting tuition to raise aspirations, revision guides and examination resits
- Bespoke personalised timetables for some Pupil Premium students to increase motivation, reduce school refusal etc.
- Additional access to an independent Careers Advisor who signposted opportunities and supported applications for Post 16
- Funding for those Pupil Premium students in need of additional financial assistance for uniform etc
Our link governor for Pupil Premium is Mrs Andrea Quigley; our Senior Leader who oversees the Pupil Strategy is Miss Emma Jones and our LAC/PLAC lead is Ms Selina Dempsey; please contact via the school office should you require further information.
Please see below for our 2022/23 Pupil Premium Strategy.
