Pupil Premium

Background Information

The Pupil Premium is an amount of money the government allocates to each school to support children, who may be vulnerable to under achievement, to reach their full potential. It is particularly aimed at pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months and children of service personnel.

How have we spent the money at St Helen’s CE Primary?

The money we receive is spent on Staff and resources that directly impact on Pupil Premium children.

Examples of spending include:

• Resources that support and enhance learning
• Additional TA’s to support
• Staff CPD and training
• Speech and Language therapy.
• Beanstalk readers
• Therapies (drawing talking, play and lego)
• Breakfast and lunchtime club
• Mentoring – SENCO, teacher, TA time
• Before and after school learning
• Funding for school trips and residentials

Is my child eligible?

If you think you are eligble for Free School Meals/Pupil Premium funding, please speak to Mrs Kember or apply via the Medway Council website:

https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200164/school_information/354/free_school_meals

Pupil Premium Strategy 2024/2025

Budget: £59,650.25

As a school we believe that every pupil has the opportunity to succeed (academically, socially and emotionally) irrespective of their financial background. We believe that all pupils should achieve and experience personal success. We endeavor to use ‘Pupil Premium’ funding to close the attainment gap. 

Barriers to Learning and Educational Achievement at St Helen’s CE Primary School

As a school we have summarised the main barriers to learning faced by some of our pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium funding.

These are:

• Cognitive delay- a large number of our children who are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding are also on the the SEND register for cognition and learning. Many others may find that they make less progress in a particular subject due to many different reasons.
• Oracy Skills - Children are presenting with higher oral language skills which impacts on their ability to communicate with their peers and have full access to all areas of the curriculum.
• Emotional or behavioural delay- we have many children with specific social and emotional needs which may have a negative effect on their learning.
• Access to extra-curricular activities – trips, sporting activities/after school clubs
• Environmental Issues – we always take into consideration environmental issues for pupils and will offer support to parents/carers where and when necessary.
• Other individual needs – we take pride in knowing all our families well and this enables us to provide individualised support, in whatever form that might take.

A range of strategies used:

Intervention support for targeted groups of children needing extra help to boost pupils’ learning and help them reach their potential.

Engagement in learning strategies.

Speech and language therapy and assessments.

Access to specialist music teaching leading to a class performance.

Contribution to the salaries of teaching assistants and specialist teachers.

Free milk for all Pupil Premium children as stipulated by The School Food Plan: milk – and the revised food-based standards.

Purchasing of learning resources.

Focus on high quality reading texts and development of library area.

Additional phonics interventions

Provision at lunchtime and during breakfast club.

Specific and targeted CPD for teachers and TA's.

Transitions arrangements.

How will Impact be Measured?

At St Helen’s, the usual cycle of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of our pupils’ attainment, are used to inform pupil progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention for our Pupil Premium children.

These processes take the form of:

• Pupil Progress meetings held with class teachers and SLT termly
• Termly assessments
• Specific individual assessments 
• Provision maps and indivudalised learning plans
• End of Year standardised tests
• Assessment for Learning
• Any targeted intervention which takes place is measured by on entry and exit data (well-being or support learning interventions)

Pupil Premium Strategy Review Meetings

Review meetings will take place at the end of every seasonal term.

At each meeting, we 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 in Governors Meetings.

Dates of next Pupil Premium Strategy Reviews:

December 2024

Designated staff member in charge: Mrs A Kember

Pupil Premium Governor:  Jade Marco