What is Pupil Premium funding?
Pupil Premium funding was introduced by the Department for Education in 2011, as additional funding allocated for pupils who receive Free School Meals. If a pupil has been eligible for Free School Meals at any point over the last 6 years or has been previously looked after, they will also be eligible. The aim of the funding is to be used to close attainment gaps between pupils from low-income and disadvantaged families.
You can find further detail about how we spend our Pupil Premium funding on the link below as well as information about how we have spent the funding during the academic year 2018-2019 and the impact it has had on learning.
Rationale
At Bishop Bronescombe, we are determined that all pupils are given the best possible chance to achieve their full potential through the highest standards of Quality First Teaching, focussed support and access to an enriching curriculum which promotes character education and the development of the whole child.
Access to any additional provision which is funded by our Pupil Premium grant is available to all pupils within school who we know to be disadvantaged and vulnerable, irrespective of whether they are eligible for the funding. We aim to allocate the use of Pupil Premium funding following careful analysis of barriers to learning as well as the individual needs of our pupils. There is no expectation that all Pupil Premium funded pupils will receive identical support, rather support is tailored to the individual. However, all disadvantaged pupils are known to teachers so that they plan provision, teaching and intervention which promotes improved pupil outcomes through:
• Facilitating pupils’ access to education
• Facilitating pupils’ access to the curriculum
• Alternative support and intervention within the school
What is Catch-up Premium?
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium
Children and young people across the country have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). Those from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds will be among those hardest hit. The aggregate impact of lost time in education will be substantial, and the scale of our response must match the scale of the challenge.
We know that we have the professional knowledge and expertise in the education system to ensure that children and young people recover and get back on track.
The government has announced £1 billion of funding to support children and young people to catch up. This includes a one-off universal £650 million catch-up premium for the 2020 to 2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time.
Although all children have had their education disrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, it is likely that disadvantaged and vulnerable groups will have been hardest hit. That is why, alongside the universal catch-up premium, the National Tutoring Programme has been launched to provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who need the most help.
Use of funds
Schools should use this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the guidance on curriculum expectations for the next academic year.
Schools have the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their cohort and circumstances. This could include, for example:
- small group or one-to-one tuition (particularly through the National Tutoring Programme)
- summer programmes to help re-engage pupils or extra teaching capacity from September
Accountability and monitoring
As with all government funding, school leaders must be able to account for how this money is being used effectively
Given their role in ensuring schools spend funding appropriately and in holding schools to account for educational performance, governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ approaches to catch-up from September, including their plans for and use of catch-up funding. This should include consideration of whether schools are spending this funding in line with their catch-up priorities, and ensuring appropriate transparency for parents.
You can read our plan for the use of this Catch-up Funding in the link below.