Pupil Premium
Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.
The rationale behind the Pupil Premium Grant
The Pupil Premium grant is additional funding provided by the Department for Education to schools to “raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers”, as research has shown that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds underperform compared to their peers. The Government has identified that pupils entitled to free school meals (FSM), looked after children and service children may be disadvantaged and have provided a fixed amount of money for schools per pupil based on the number of pupils who fulfil the above criteria.
Pupil Premium at Binfield C.E. Primary School (VA)
When making decisions about using Pupil Premium funding, it is important to consider the context of the school and the subsequent challenges faced. Common barriers for FSM children can be less support at home, weak language and communication skills, lack of confidence, more frequent behaviour difficulties, and attendance and punctuality issues. However, we recognise that not all FSM children will be socially disadvantaged, particularly at Binfield C.E. Primary School (VA), where some children are only recipients of free school meals for a short period of time before their parents are able to regain work. In addition, we have a number of children who qualify for the Pupil Premium funding as they are, or have been, Looked After children.
Our key objective in using the Pupil Premium grant is to narrow the gap between pupil groups, so that Pupil Premium funded pupils perform as well as, or better than, other groups of pupils within the school. We achieve this firstly, by ensuring Quality First teaching in the classroom for all pupils, so that class teachers provide the best possible delivery of learning experiences. In addition, we provide a range of group and individual interventions designed to support those pupils with identified needs, and finally, by offering a rich and varied menu of activities designed to engage and motivate pupils, raising their aspirations and creating a positive view of learning.
We measure the impact of our provision in a number of ways, including looking at pupil progress from starting points, pupil attainment, outcomes from interventions, meetings with class teachers, comments from parents, attendance and punctuality logs, behaviour logs and Pupil Premium children surveys. An annual report to the Governors is then produced and can be found below.
Allocation of the Pupil Premium Grant is based around the school’s principles, outlined above, and the needs of the current Pupil Premium cohort. An outline of planned spending is formulated, with desired outcomes, but the plan may be adapted throughout the year to suit individual requirements.