Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium

  • The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months.
  • The Government decided that eligibility for the Pupil Premium from 2012-13 will be extended to pupils who have been eligible for FSM at any point in the last 6 years (PPEv6).
  • Research showed that, as a group, children who have been eligible for FSM at any point in time have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible for FSM.
  • Local authorities are responsible for looked after children in care and will make payments to schools and academies where an eligible looked after child is on roll.

Eligibility for Pupil Premium

You will be entitled to apply for Free School Meals and/or Pupil Premium for your child if you or your partner receive one or more of the following benefits:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Child Tax Credit (not Working Tax Credit), with an annual income of below £16,190
  • Pension Guarantee Credit
  • Employment and Support Allowance, income related
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act, 1999
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit

To apply online please click here

Expenditure of Pupil Premium budget

  • At Bromfords all pupils who are eligible for FSM also receive a free breakfast every day, the canteen opens from 8.00am to 8.30am.
  • Parents of those pupils in Year 7-11 who are eligible for FSM or ever 6 have been informed that the school is in receipt of the Pupil Premium and they can request the manner in which it is spent. For example, if a pupil wants to go on a school trip and they can demonstrate that it will have an effect on their level of attainment then the school can fund all or part of that trip using these additional funds.
  • Pupils in receipt of FSM can receive extra tuition in English, Mathematics or Science depending on their greatest need.
  • In the financial year 2018-19, the grant received by the school was £225,000.

Strategy Impact
Staffing This includes a percentage of the Pupil Premium grant supporting the employment of a Home School Attendance Officer to ensure improved attendance of disadvantaged students. It also allows non-teaching Heads of Year to support student wellbeing and, when required, reduce the risk to fixed term exclusions.
School equipment: revision guides, school uniform, food technology ingredients, stationery. All students have the opportunity to access extra support materials to further enhance their understanding of the curriculum.  The introduction of revision packs in the core subjects ensures that students are prepared for their exams and promotes the importance of self-esteem and confidence.
Extra-Curricular activities: residential and day trips. Students from lower income backgrounds do not necessarily have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities outside of school.  We therefore give students the opportunity to experience new things and learn or enhance their skills in extra-curricular activities.  This also helps to improve motivation, organisation and dedication to their school experience.  The school also raises the aspirations of these students by providing them with the opportunity of experience local universities. Our homework club in the library ensures that all students have an appropriate place to complete their homework.
Intervention

(includes 1-2-1 and small group tuition)

 Students identified as under-achieving are given targeted intervention to close the gap in attainment.  Some of this intervention may be delivered by an external company but we also use some of our Sixth Formers to work with students as a way of not only improving attainment but to also raise student aspirations.
SEND: LSA intervention and classroom support Students are closely monitored by the school SENCO (Mr Upward) and then key areas for development are identified.  This allows the Pupil Premium budget to be spent with specific student needs in mind.
Personalised Learning. For a small number of students, a personalised learning programme engaging with external providers prevents the risk of exclusion and enables these students to obtain qualifications that will support them post-16.
Breakfast and lunch. Free School Meals are offered to those on the FSM register.

All pupils who are eligible for FSM are also entitles to receive a free breakfast every day.  A balanced diet and getting a variety of nutrients has been widely recognised as having a direct impact on student progress in schools.
Counselling Our counselling service allows students to manage the way they think or behave to improve their mental and emotional well-being.
Rewards A variety of incentives are used to help improve student attendance and therefore student progress. For example, there is a termly attendance prize draw for disadvantaged students.

 

The school’s Pupil Premium strategy comes under the ‘Spotlight Learners’ initiative. This initiative is aiming to ensure that the gap between ‘Spotlight Learners’ and their peers is reduced in terms of outcomes, attendance and other key measures.  Each year group is reviewed on a regular basis in Spotlight year meetings where discussions centre on progress, welfare, attendance and behaviour. Termly reports are also discussed at SLT. 

The key aims of the Spotlight Learner’s initiative are to:

  • Raise achievement of spotlight learners
  • Raise aspirations of our spotlight learners
  • Improve the attitudes and focus of spotlight learners
  • Raise the profile of the spotlight learners amongst staff, students and parents whilst dispelling any negative connotations.
  • Ensure the school is fully accessible to spotlight learners
  • Provide personalised support to spotlight learners to enable them to make the most out of school

Spotlight Learners

Mr Haines, Assistant Headteacher, oversees our Spotlight Learner strategy. He is supported by a Raising Standards Leaders (RSL) who was appointed to post from September 2018 – Mrs Harman. Between them, they monitor the academic progress, attendance and welfare of disadvantaged students and determine how the additional funding received by the school is spent.

  • Parents in receipt of Free School Meals can request on how the school spends the grant and these should be directed to Mr Haines in writing.
  • Whilst the school is encouraging ideas on how parents would like to spend the grant the final decision on how the grant is spent rests ultimately with the school.
  • Email address: hainesb@bromfords.essex.sch.uk

Outcomes for Pupils in Receipt of the Pupil Premium

The document below summarises the impact of the Pupil Premium for pupils at Bromfords:

Spotlight Learners Final Report 2018-19