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

Pupil Premium at Coughton

At Coughton, 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. These interventions support children in knowing where they are and what they need to do to improve their work.

Increasing Parental Engagement is now a focus at the school. A range of learning opportunities have been provided to help parents develop their own skills in English and maths – to make them better equipped at supporting their children at home.

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 Coughton, 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 (approximately every 6 weeks) and will include a member of Senior Management and teachers.

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.

Eligibility Criteria

Parents/guardians in England do not have to pay for school meals if they receive 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
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
• Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ – the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

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.

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 the office.

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.