St Wilfrid’s CE Primary School, in common with other schools, receives its funding from the Government via Lancashire Local Authority.
One element of this funding is called the PUPIL PREMIUM. The amount of this additional funding varies from school to school and is dependent on 3 factors: the number of children in school who are/have been in the care of the local authority, the number who have/ have had an entitlement to a free school meal (separate from KS1 children who are all currently entitled to a free school meal) and the number who have a parent(s) in the armed forces.
In 2017/18 (April 2017-March 2018) St Wilfrid’s received £38484 Pupil Premium (PPG) allocations and in the 2018/19 financial year, the allocation is £42380. Further information can be found at: http://www.direct.gov.uk
At St Wilfrid’s Primary School, we aim for all children to make good or better progress and this includes those children whose family circumstances generate Pupil Premium income (PPG) for the school. National research shows that these children may be disadvantaged, leading to lower attainment and therefore, through careful analysis each year, we identify any barriers to learning specific to our school context. The main barriers faced by some children at this school are around family pressures and access to enrichment activities. Through careful and regular tracking and analysis, the Headteacher, Senior Leaders and Governing Body ensure that the PPG funding is used strategically to overcome these barriers.
The school draws from evidence and research* to allocate the funding to the activities and strategies most likely to have an impact on improving achievement.
In 2017/18 the Pupil Premium was used in a variety of ways. These included:
- Strategies as identified by the *Sutton Trust Research, for example the use of additional resources and staffing to deliver high quality, personalised intervention programmes.
- Drawing from excellent practice in other schools as identified by The National College (archive materials), for example, subsidised enrichment activities, high quality staff training and family support.
- Actions linked to priorities from the school development plan, for example raising the attainment of boys, and Learning Mentor support for vulnerable children and families, ensuring high attendance and pastoral support.
- Working closely with local outside agencies to ensure that pupils’ and families’ needs are met, for example Children and Family Wellbeing and Lancashire Adult Learning.
The impact of Pupil Premium funding on disadvantaged pupils is reviewed annually:
- In 2017-18 attainment for all pupils was above national figures. This indicates that all children do well at St Wilfrid’s including those whose family circumstances generate PP funding. In addition, progress data for our Pupil Premium supported pupils demonstrates the positive impact of strategies used.
- As a result of close monitoring and targeted support, attendance, engagement and behaviour for learning remains high for the vast majority of disadvantaged pupils across the school.
- Disadvantaged pupils were given increased opportunities to participate in a wider range of school responsibilities, enrichment and extracurricular activities, contributing to high levels of wellbeing and involvement in school life.
In 2018-19 we continue to maintain a school wide commitment to raising achievement, building on the above strategies.
*In addition to school based evidence, The Sutton Trust-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit is an accessible summary of educational research which provides guidance for teachers and schools on how to use their resources to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.