Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium: What is the Pupil Premium Grant?
Nationally, as a group, children who have been eligible for FSM at any point in time have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible for FSM. In order to help address these inequalities the Government provides Pupil Premium funding, which is additional funding, to schools so that it can be used to support those disadvantaged and most vulnerable pupils who need it most.
The Pupil Premium is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for FSM, or who have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years, in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months.
What is our rationale for the Pupil Premium Grant?
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Improve the academic outcomes of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities
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Close the attainment and progress gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers
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Identify and implement strategies that help to increase social mobility
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Enhance pupils’ cultural literacy and wider enrichment opportunities
Pupil Premium Strategy
At The Duston School we pride ourselves on having high aspiration and ambition for all pupils, regardless of their background. We operate a no excuse culture, setting children up to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to succeed. Our mission statement of “Knowledge is Power” emphases the importance that we place on ensuring that every pupil achieves academic success and has the real option of going to university or following a career of their choice.
Some interventions are adopted on a whole school basis and are not restricted to FSM registered pupils only. However, the implementation of some intervention programmes would not have been possible without the Pupil Premium. The majority of school strategies are targeted towards improvement in the attainment and progress of pupils. A number of these key strategies are resourced from the schools’ main budget, including smaller class sizes where appropriate, educational support staff and an intervention programme. We have allocated the additional Pupil Premium funding to specific initiatives to support the most disadvantaged pupils.
The key objective is to narrow the gap between pupil groups. The achievement of pupils at The Duston School is good however levels of attainment are lower for some children who are eligible for FSM. While we recognise that this is a national trend, we are committed to doing everything we can to close this achievement gap. Through the application of high quality programmes and provision overall, we aim to eliminate barriers to learning and progress. The use of targeted interventions is also important. Children who start with low attainment on entry will need to make accelerated progress in order to reach at least age-related expectations.
It must also be remembered that there can be children who, whilst being eligible for FSM and Pupil Premium, are not low attaining but may not be maximising their full potential. We must therefore never confuse eligibility for the Pupil Premium with low ability. We must focus on supporting all disadvantaged children to achieve the highest levels.
Funding is allocated within the school budget by financial year. This budget enables the school to plan its intervention and support programme. Expenditure is therefore planned and implemented by academic year as shown in the Pupil Premium Plan below.
Pupil Premium Offer
All students who are identified as Pupil Premium will be allocated a ring-fenced amount of £100 to spend upon the following:
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School uniform – This will be provided as a voucher
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Support towards educational trips and visits
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Subject specific equipment e.g. catering supplies
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Support towards extra-curricular clubs in the primary phase
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Support in accessing holiday clubs
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Support towards swimming lessons
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Books to support learning and reading for pleasure
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Support towards in-school peripatetic music lessons
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Funded revision guides, such as ActiveLearn English and GCSE reading texts.
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Funding towards the primary before and after school provision
In addition the following support is available free of charge:
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Donated uniform – During lockdown we were donated new uniform i.e. trousers, shoes which are available via appointment
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Provision of equipment packs, departmental resources, such as ingredients for Food Technology, or paints and pencils for Art/Graphics
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Access to catch-up tutoring in English, Maths and Science where appropriate