Pupil Premium
The Pupil Premium funding is a special initiative which targets additional funds to schools for the benefit of children from low income families. These are identified by known eligibility for Free School Meals (FSM). Children who have been looked after (fostered or in care) continuously for more than 6 months and pupils from “service” families are also included. Pupils who have been eligible for FSM at any point in the last 6 years are also included in the allocation calculation (known as the Ever 6 measure).
Pupil Premium is funding allocated to schools for the purpose of boosting the attainment of pupils from low income families. It is intended to enable schools to provide targeted support to help children reach their full potential. From September 2014, all children in Reception and Key Stage 1 are entitled to a free school meal. Parents who are on benefits and meet the criteria though, are still encouraged to apply for additional funding known as pupil premium funding.
Here at Inkpen, we are passionate about raising the attainment of all our pupils, to ensure they reach their full potential. Nationally, it has been found that children who are eligible for free school meals generally do not achieve as well as their peers. We work hard to ensure that all Pupil Premium children achieve just as well as non-premium children. We also recognise that not all children in receipt of Pupil Premium funding struggle academically, so all interventions are child specific and geared towards moving their learning forward, whatever their needs.
With this in mind, we provide targeted support for all Pupil Premium children, based on the findings of pupil progress meetings that take place throughout the year. All our work through the pupil Premium is aimed at accelerating progress and moving children towards and in some cases, beyond, age related expectations in reading, writing and maths. Teachers provide “additional and different” support, which takes place outside of classroom directed time to help enable all children to make progress. All these children have an individual support plan in place, whereby progress is tracked carefully and the impact of interventions closely monitored and reviewed on a termly basis. If necessary, specialised intervention programmes to improve standards in reading and maths are also put in place, as are the family support worker, Emotional Literacy support (ELSA) and behavioural skills workshops.
To ensure that no child misses out on enrichment opportunities offered by the school, all Pupil Premium children continue to receive support for school trips, residential activities and clubs in order to broaden their experiences and raise their self-esteem.
"We never say we can't"
