What is Pupil Premium?

The Government introduced the Pupil Premium in April 2011, as a means of addressing underlying inequalities between children from low income families who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers, by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most. There are three categories of pupils that are eligible:

Children who are either currently eligible for FSM or have been eligible for FSM in the past six years; 

• Children who have been looked after by a local authority (in care) continuously for more than six months - Funding £1345 per child per year.
• Children who have been adopted from care - Funding £2345 per child per year.
• Children of Armed Forces Personnel – Funding £300 per child per year.

Schools are required to report how they intend to spend their Pupil Premium.

Statutory they have to report how Pupil Premium is spent and account for money spent against outcomes.

Children who have been in Local Authority Care

This funding is for children who have been in care, the purpose is to raise educational attainment and close the gap between these children and their peers.

The purpose of the Service Pupil Premium

Eligible schools receive the Service Pupil Premium so that they can offer mainly pastoral support during challenging times and to help mitigate the negative impact on service children of family mobility or parental deployment.

Mobility is when a service family is posted from one location to another, including overseas and within the UK.

Deployment is when a service person is serving away from home for a period of time. This could be a 6 to 9-month tour of duty, a training course or an exercise which could last for a few weeks.

Principles
At Midsomer Norton Primary School:

• We ensure that teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all the pupils.
• We ensure that appropriate provision is made for pupils who belong to vulnerable groups, this includes ensuring that the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils are adequately assessed and addressed.
• In making provision for socially disadvantaged pupils, we recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged.
• We also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals. As a school we are committed to catering for the needs of all, regardless of whether they qualify for additional funding.
• Pupil Premium funding will be allocated following a needs analysis which will identify priority classes, groups or individuals. Limited funding and resources mean that different children receiving free school meals will receive their Pupil Premium interventions at different points in the year.
• All our work through the Pupil Premium will be aimed at accelerating progress, enabling children to progress at least in line with age-related expectations.
• Pupil Premium resources may also be used to support able children on FSM working at a greater depth within the expected standard at the end of KS1 and KS2.
• The school will publish information on how they have used their Pupil Premium Grant to address the issue of ‘narrowing the gap’, for socially disadvantaged pupils.

Evidence
The interventions and strategies funded are based on the evidence of effective interventions provided by the Education Endowment Foundation and the school's own internal tracking data.

The use of pupil premium funding is regularly reviewed for its effectiveness by school governors.

Please click on this link to download our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement for 2021-2024.