Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is an allocation of additional funding provided to schools to support specific groups of children who are vulnerable to possible underachievement.
These include pupils who are entitled to Free School Meals. It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent and although funding is targeted at eligible pupils, the impact is spread across the whole school. We are grateful that parents apply for the funding and this can be done through the school. If you think your child is eligible, please ask!

Since September 2012, schools have been required to publish online information about their pupil premium allocation and how they plan to spend it. The Ofsted Subsidiary Guidance 2014 also states that schools must publish a statement of how they spend the money for the previous year and its impact on the attainment of the pupils eligible for support through the pupil premium. Please see below documents showing the schools statements and plans in regards to the Pupil Premium.

The total allocation for 2023-24 academic year is £68,385.25. An additional sum of £6,909.25 of Recovery Pupil Premium funding has also been allocated. The next review of the Pupil Premium strategy will be September 2024.

Focus of Funding allocated 2023-2024

The aim of our Pupil Premium (PP) funding at St Mary's Catholic School is to address the current underlying inequalities between disadvantaged pupils with other pupils in our care. We do this by ensuring that the funding is strategically and effectively targeted to address barriers to success and academic progress/achievement between PP and non-PP pupils. When identifying strategies and allocating funding to particular projects we consider the impact of previous experience within our school context, as well as applying knowledge gained from external research including the Educational Endowment Foundation and the Sutton Trust. We are committed to using a range of measures to evaluate the impact of the spend as an ongoing process throughout each academic year. These include headline measures as well as individualised monitoring and evaluation processes which are developed in conjunction with staff who have specific responsibilities for reviewing the pupil premium spend. The school allocates its funding in the following key areas.

● Curriculum - Particular focus on Reading, Writing and Maths across the curriculum and specific
intervention strategies to target the attainment and progress gaps between PP and non PP pupils in all year groups
● Specific need - Pupils who are identified with a specific need including SEND pupils, high attaining pupils on entry and pupils with behavioural issues are supported to ensure that the gap between PP and non PP pupils with these needs narrows
● Teaching and Learning - To develop compelling learning throughout the curriculum through a culture of consistency and creativity. A focus on an active research model to develop and evaluate strategies to narrow the gap in attainment and progress between PP and non PP pupils whilst improving provision for all
● Cultural capital - Access to extra-curricular/enrichment opportunities, regardless of the pupil’s background so that all aspects of the learned curriculum are available to all pupils. The school acknowledges this may be difficult to access trips and for children to enjoy extra-curricular activities and access the wider learning community in the locality. 
● Attendance and punctuality - to implement strategies to address the gap in attendance and punctuality rates between PP and non PP pupils