Given the last few years and the impact that the pandemic has had on children we are making great steps to help our PP children who have fallen behind. We have supported our PP children greatly over the lockdown periods both financially and academically. We have given food vouchers (Food bank) (FSM vouchers) and over Christmas we provided all PP children with a Christmas Present and food hamper. At Easter we provided Easter eggs for our PP children. The impact is being felt now that children have returned to school and as a whole community we are aiming to fill in the gaps created by the pandemic. This is both academically and mentally.

When making decisions about using pupil premium funding it is vital to consider the context of the school and the challenges we face. Common barriers for FSM children can be a lack of support at home, weak language and communication skills, a lack of confidence, behaviour difficulties, attendance and punctuality issues. There may also be complex family situations that prevent children from reaching their potential. This can be for a short period of time or ongoing. The challenges are different for everyone and there is no “one size fits all”. This is the case more than ever after the pandemic.

Our key objective in using the Pupil Premium Grant is to narrow the gap between pupil groups. As a school we aim to ensure that each pupil makes good or better progress. Historically attainment have been lower for FSM children (eligible for free school meals) – this is a national problem. Through targeted interventions we are working to eliminate barriers to learning and progress. For children who start school with low attainment, our aim is to ensure that they make accelerated progress in order to reach age related expectations as they move through the school.

Furthermore, children who join in Reception are proven to make better progress and higher attainment than those who join throughout KS2 proving that the longer they are in our school, the better their attainment and progress. Those that join during KS2 still make progress but the time available to increase this progress can be less.

We start each year looking at and considering the needs of our school, the context and what worked well in previous years. In addition to this we have identified some key principles which we believe will maximise the impact of our pupil premium spending. We have regular Pupil Premium Meetings to identify need and plan for support and interventions.

We set high expectations of everyone in school and PP children are no different.

We provide high quality CPD for staff to ensure the highest standards of teaching are met.

We expect high levels of attendance at school from all pupils. This is monitored closely.

We look at each child as an individual and their provision is provided accordingly.

We use teachers and TA’s to provide high quality interventions. They are used based on their skill sets. This means that the children receive specialised support.

We work with outside agencies to support families when needed as well as the Family Support Worker to support in school.

We provide regular opportunities for parents to meet with the class teacher and other staff to discuss progress.

We support families in times of crisis with issues such as bereavement, separation worries, housing support, family breakdown etc.

We target children with tailored interventions for their specific needs.

We aim to increase the child’s confidence and self-esteem to encourage them with their learning.