Pupil Premium
In 2011 the Government introduced a sum of money to be given to schools each academic year to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.
The Government has used pupils entitled to Free School meals as an indicator for disadvantage, and have deployed a fixed amount of money to schools per pupil, based on the number of pupils eligible for Free School meals. Looked After Children and those of Armed Service Personnel are also eligible for this increased funding.
In addition to this funding schools receive an additional amount due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic called the recovery premium grant. Recovery premium is a time-limited grant which provided over £300 million of additional funding for state-funded schools in the 2021 to 22 academic year and is providing a further £1 billion across the 2022 to 23 and 2023 to 24 academic years.
The Government does not dictate how schools should spend this money, but is clear that schools will need to employ the strategies that they know will support these pupils to increase their attainment, and ‘diminishing the gap’ between their attainment and the attainment of other pupils.
We will never confuse eligibility for the Pupil Premium for low ability and instead focus on supporting our disadvantaged students to achieve the highest levels. Whilst underpinned by the priorities set out in the Schools Development Plan, our strategy is based upon a detailed analysis of the barriers to learning faced by our students in receipt of the Pupil Premium. As such it will address these barriers in order to secure excellent progress with regard to academic outcomes, attendance, aspirations, expectations and experiences outside the narrow definition of education upon which schools are often judged.
From the October 2022 Census the proportion of students at Headlands School who are eligible for this premium is 34% which is above the National average. Headlands School will continue to maintain a relentless focus on disadvantaged students in order to maximise achievement and progress.
Central to our Pupil Premium will be an unerring focus on teaching and learning. There is solid evidence that excellent teaching disproportionately benefits disadvantaged youngsters and so having a team of professionals resolutely committed to planning high quality, personalised and engaging lessons is of itself very significant.
Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2023-2024
