The Grove Primary School

The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.

 “It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.” 

Source - DfE website

At The Grove Primary School we have high aspirations and ambitions for our children and we believe that no child should be left behind. We strongly believe that it is not about where you come from but your passion and thirst for knowledge, and your dedication and commitment to learning that make the difference between success and failure.               

We are determined to ensure that our children are given every chance to realise their full potential. Pupil premium funding, along with allocations made from the schools own budget will help ensure this money is spent to maximum effect.                  

Pupil Premium Spending:

Our pupil premium money has been used to provide a range of additional support for our children and these interventions, along with quality first teaching have started to have a positive impact on children’s attainment and self-belief.           

Through targeted interventions we are working hard to eliminate barriers to learning and progress. One of the schools aims is to ensure that ALL groups of pupils make good progress in order to reach age related expectations as they move through the school.           

Targeted support is being provided through one-to-one and small group tuition across the school. Highly experienced HLTAs also provide additional support through 3-way splits, interventions/targeted conferencing in most year groups across the school. These interventions support children in knowing where they are and what they need to do to improve their work.         

Information to be published to parents:

Schools are required to publish their 'PUPIL PREMIUM STRATEGY.' This should include:

 Current academic year:

• the amount of the school's allocation of pupil premium grant
• details of the main barriers to educational achievement
• how the allocation will be spent to address the barriers and why these approaches were taken
• how the school will measure the impact of the pupil premium
• the date of the next pupil premium strategy review.

The 2021/2022  strategy statement is required to be published by 31 December 2021 - this enables the school to take the needs of our new intake into account.

How will the school measure the impact of the Pupil Premium?

To monitor progress on attainment, new measures have been included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of pupils covered by the Pupil Premium. At The Grove Primary School, the usual cycle of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of the cohort’s attainment, will be used to inform pupil progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention. Review meetings will take place at each milestone (every half term) and will include a member of Senior Management, teachers, HLTAs, TAs and the Pupil Premium Champion.

At each milestone, the school will review the impact of actions taken and will plan for how the funding will be specifically allocated over the next phase. When selecting pupils for Pupil Premium target groups, the school will look at all pupils across the school. There are some pupils who are not eligible for PP who will benefit from these groups if their needs are similar and we believe progress can be made towards individual targets.

Pupil Premium Funding and the impact of this is a regular item on the governors’ Education Committee meetings.

Pupil Premium Champion: Mrs Kayleigh Thomas

Nominated governor: Jen McMillan

Finance

Free school meals - Schools get £1,345 for every primary age pupil who claims free school meals or who has claimed free school meals in the last 6 years.

Looked-after and previously looked-after children - Schools get £2,345 for every pupil who has left local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child arrangements order.

Service premium - The service premium is not part of the pupil premium as the rules to attract the service premium are different.

Schools get £310 for every pupil with a parent who:

• is serving in HM Forces
• has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence

Eligibility for Free School Meals:

A parent may wish to check their child's eligibility for Pupil Premium or continued free school meals (from Key Stage 2) and Wiltshire Council has an on line system for this  .         

You will need to enter your name, address, national insurance number or asylum support service number.  In addition, you will need to provide your child's name, date of birth and identify the school they are attending.

Eligibility Criteria

Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Pupil Premium is an important payment for schools and a really good opportunity for eligible parents to get even more support for their children in schools.            

For more information about free meals in Wiltshire, please contact the council on 01225 713780 or you can write to them at: Free School Meals, Children’s Services, Wiltshire Council, County Hall, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JN     

If you have any questions or would like to know more about Pupil Premium funding and how it is being used to benefit your child, please speak to Mrs Kayleigh Thomas, Pupil Premium Champion.

If you think your child may possibly be eligible for free school meals, even if you don't want your child to eat school meals, please call into the office to collect a claim form.  Every child who is eligible generates valuable income for the school.