Pupil and Sports Premium

Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium (PP)/Pupil Premium Grant was introduced by the Government to provide additional funding to address the gap in educational attainment and long term economic wellbeing between socially disadvantaged children and young people compared to their peers. The reasons for this correlation are complex and no actual causal relationship has been proven. However, the Government has a stated aim to narrow this gap in attainment and since 2011 has provided additional funding to schools to support them in so doing.

Socially disadvantaged pupils have been defined as pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) at some point in the last six years (if no longer receiving FSM are known as Ever 6 children) and children who have been in care for more than six months. Currently schools will receive an additional £1320 for each child eligible for FSM or £1900 for those who are looked after by the local authority (Looked After Child – LAC). Children whose parents are employed by the armed forces receive an additional £300

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. However, we will be accountable for how we have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families. From September 2012, we are required to publish online information about how we have used the premium. This will ensure that parents and others are aware of the extra support that is available to pupils who receive the PP.

For more information, please follow this link for government information

What is the Service Premium?

The Service Premium grant is for pupils who have a parent serving in the armed services. Unlike the Pupil Premium, this grant is not solely for raising attainment but for providing additional (mainly pastoral) support.

Who receives the Service Premium?

Pupils with a parent currently serving in the armed services and supporting their family, pupils who have a parent who died in action and those whose parents have left the service since April 2011 for other reasons, including injury. To be eligible, the parent must be supporting their family, so where they are separated or divorced a pupil will not be eligible

How do parents register their child’s entitlement for Pupil Premium?

Parents must apply for free school meals via the County Council or their child’ school, this is a quick and simple process. Telephone with your National Insurance Number, date of birth, name and child’s details and an eligibility check can be carried out using the Department for Education’s Eligibility Checking System, this will confirm if details have been matched or not. It will not tell us what benefits you are in receipt of, dates when a benefit was awarded or say how much you receive. Confirmation will be sent to you and the school within 5-10 working days. Pupils do not have to take up their entitlement to a free meal but Local Authorities and schools recommend that they do. The government is made aware of each pupil claiming FSMs each term via the school census so they have up-to-date information on those eligible.

Who should Parents contact for further information?

Contact school if you would like to find out more about registering your child for free school meals. This information will be held confidentially by the school. The administrator should also be able to direct you to any reports the school has produced relating to the use of the pupil premium. The head teacher or the Chair of the governing body on behalf of the governors can offer further information to those parents enquiring about the use of the Pupil Premium

How much are the Pupil Premium Grants worth?

The Pupil Premium is currently allocated as £1345 per pupil eligible. The Service Premium is £300 This is significant additional money for schools to spend on supporting disadvantaged pupils and schools are very keen to ensure that all eligible pupils are ‘signed up’. Grants are based on those pupils included in the January schools’ census. As a school we understand that it is not only pupils who qualify for Pupil Premium who may need the support from the school as detailed below; every child is assessed for extra support on an individual basis according to their need.

What obligations are placed on the school?

The Ofsted Inspection Framework ensures that their inspectors focus on the attainment of vulnerable pupils and in particular those who attract the Pupil and Service Premium. They have published a series of reports about how the pupil premium can be spent, these can be found on their website at:

 Ofsted – Inspection Framework

The Department for Education’s performance tables detail the achievement of those pupils entitled to FSM and the Pupil Premium Grant(s). Individual pupils will never be identified through published information, this will only relate to groups of pupils, and in small schools numbers may not be published. Individual school information can be found on the Department for Education’s website at:

 Department of Education – School Performance 

How the Pupil Premium is used at Woolden Hill Primary School?

We ensure that teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all pupils. Appropriate provision is made for pupils that belong to vulnerable groups, this includes ensuring that the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils are adequately assessed and addressed. Pupil Premium funding will be allocated following a needs analysis which will identify priority classes, groups or individuals. This will be through whole school monitoring of data, assessments and discussions with the class teacher. We recognise that not all pupils that receive Pupil Premium funding will be socially disadvantaged.

The funding is used in several ways at Woolden Hill Primary School. The majority of funding is used to provide additional support for children to ensure they make accelerated progress in core curriculum areas. This support is delivered and monitored by a teacher and also delivered by trained support assistants. An enrichment fund is also available for pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium Funding, which provides assistance with costs associated with enrichment. This includes support with the costs of school trips, before and after school care.

Measuring the impact of the use of Pupil Premium

As a school we will endeavour to judge the impact of the use of the Pupil Premium Grant by:

1. Tracking Pupil Premium children throughout the year to monitor their academic and social progress. Regular data analysis is used to measure the impact of the variety of interventions that have taken place. Pupil progress meetings take place termly to ensure that pupils are on track to achieve 5 points progress in each class in KS1 and 4 points progress in each year group in KS2.

2. Carefully monitoring pupils with emotional support, these are carefully tracked to determine if the counselling and behaviour support provided is having an impact. Attendance and behaviour logs are kept to support the impact of these interventions. Pupils are also monitored for their participation in after school clubs to support their wellbeing and social interaction.

3. Using pupil feedback (interviews and shared time in class)

4. Details of the impact of spending, interventions and progress are monitored by a nominated Pupil Premium Governor and the teaching and Learning Committee

Additional Information

Sports Premium

The government provides schools with Sports Premium funding each academic year to provide additional and sustainable improvements to PE and sport for the benefit of all pupils and to encourage the development of healthy and active life styles.Allocations are calculated using the number of pupils in years 1 to 6. Money goes directly to primary school head teachers to spend on improving the quality of sport and P.E; each school will receive £16,000 plus an extra £10 per pupil. The money can only be spent on sport and PE provision in schools.

Why Do We Have The Funding?

Our school will have the opportunity to spend the sport funding on developing the provision of PE and sport and our aim is to create a legacy for our school for future years in increasing participation and the quality of Physical Education within school.

How Will We Use The Funding?

We will receive our sports funding in 2017 and our primary aims will be to:

  • Increase participation in PE and sport through the provision of extracurricular sports clubs.
  • Increase the quality of PE teaching by employing a highly trained sports coach.
  • Increase competitive sports opportunities both within school, in the local area and within the academy trust.
  • Provide enhanced opportunity to participate in sports that children may otherwise not experience. Part of this will form the aims of our residential trip for pupils.

The advisory board and staff agree that the money must be used so that ALL children benefit regardless of their sporting ability. It’s important this funding opportunity is used appropriately so that when it ends, we have a legacy that can continue for future years. Our school places a high priority on our PE provision and we are keen to develop both the curriculum PE and extra – curricular sports during lunchtime and after school.

The school believes that physical education plays a vital role in contributing to a child’s physical and emotional development and well-being.

We aim to provide as many sporting opportunities as we can for all our pupils within the curriculum, extra-curricular activities and competitions.

Long-Term Vision

Our long term vision is to develop a Discovery Schools Sports Programme. The programme would see a wide range of sports and events being delivered so that all children and young people would have access to them. In order to do this a ‘sports manager’ would be appointed to manage, operate and deliver much of the programme. Specialist coaches would work across the cluster of schools in curriculum and after-school time. By pooling a percentage of the funding across the Discovery schools a strong, sustainable sports partnership would be developed.

Additional Information

For a break down of the grants awarded and how they have been spent, please download the following: