Pupil Premium

Pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers.

Schools receive pupil premium funding based on the number of pupils they have in October from the following groups:

Students who are:

Eligible for free school meals: Schools receive £1,385 for every primary age pupil, or £985 for every secondary age pupil, who claims free school meals, or who has claimed free school meals in the last 6 years.
Looked-after and previously looked-after children: Schools receive £2,410 for every pupil who has left local authority care through adoption, a special guardianship order or child arrangements order.

Nationally there is a significant difference in the achievements of students who are eligible for Pupil Premium support and those who are not. The additional funding allows us to put in place strategies and resources which are designed to reduce this achievement gap. At St Bernadette’s we are working hard to support disadvantaged students in all areas of their secondary education, from the moment they arrive in Year 7.

Aims

Our aims are to ensure that:

All students eligible for the pupil premium make outstanding academic progress
All students eligible for the pupil premium achieve beyond expectation
There is transparency via our reporting systems that demonstrates how and why this funding has been spent
Any differences made to the learning and progress of students eligible for the pupil premium are shown within performance data and inspection evidence
It is recognised that not all students who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals
Parents of disadvantaged children understand they can make a positive contribution to their children’s achievement in the School by engaging with the school and recognising that parent involvement makes a difference

Barriers to Learning

Some of the barriers faced by disadvantaged students include:

Pupils who are eligible for PP have historical low attendance to school, which means they have gaps in their knowledge and affects the progress they make.
Pupils entering the school who are eligible for PP have lower literacy levels, which prevents them from making as much progress.
Behaviour, emotional and social difficulties leading to disadvantaged pupils being disproportionately represented in FTE figures.
Low aspirations from some parents and pupils.
All pupils have been affected by the reduced amount of education due to COVID lockdowns. Many pupil premium students would have been affected even more due to a lack of resources available to them

Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

Please click here to view our most recent Pupil Premium Strategy Statement.

Review Date

The Pupil Premium Strategy will be reviewed at the start of each academic year and be reported to the school community via the report and action plan.

Please find below the relevant information regarding Pupil Premium at St Bernadette's.