Mellis Church of England Primary School - 'To Be Our Best'

Pupil Premium Allocation to the School

(Date of next review of Pupil Premium Strategy - Sept 2024) 

The Perceived Barriers to Educational Achievement by Eligible Pupils at Mellis CE Primary School

Pupil Premium monies are used to enable the children concerned to reach their full potential.  The main barriers to educational achievement faced by eligible pupils within the School are perceived to be:

1) Access to a range of activities and opportunities promoting a wider 'cultural capital' so that the difference is diminshed between them and their non-disadvantaged peers in terms of life experience

2) Access to educational school trips and residential camps, clubs (where these require a subscription), music lessons,  uniform etc

3) Gaps in support that parents may be able to give in terms of academic assistance etc.

4) Individual learning challenges requiring additional support

Beyond these general statements, and given the low numbers of Pupil Premium children within the School, an individual approach is taken with regard to the specific needs and circumstances of that pupil.

Due to the small numbers of Pupil Premium children in the School, we do not publish further detail on the website to protect the privacy of those concerned.

The School is also aware that national research indicates that the effects of the C19 pandemic has also had an impact on PP children in terms of their direct experience of the recent lockdown, in terms of parental support, ability to access online learning and further economic impacts

^{How the School Spends Pupil Premium to Diminish these Barriers}

Bearing mind the above barriers, the School intends to spend its Pupil Premium allocation in the following ways.

• By providing assistance with basic commodities such as uniform;
• By paying for the regular educational trips the School has in place across the year groups, including residential camps at Year 6;
• By ensuring a wide range of experiences take place within School to enhance and develop the 'cultural capital' aspect of the child's education. This may include special visitors/events within School, or experiences outside the normal run of School activity;
• By paying for extra-curricular clubs (where these require a subscription), or by paying for individual music lessons;
• By increasing the hours of the Teaching Assistants that are specifically allocated to each classroom;
• To enable additional academic support either before or after normal school hours by class teachers TAs or external tutors;
• Any specific needs not covered by the above that the child may have and the School believes would be an appropriate use of PP resources.

This is designed to diminish possible social disadvantages faced by Pupil Premum Children, as well as attend to any potential academic disparity.

Accountability

The school has a clear programme of monitoring children’s progress against various pertinent factors. It is essential that we evaluate the success of each of our various forms of intervention to ensure we are achieving our objectives and in an efficient way. This is completed at class and whole school level.

PP Children at Risk of Underachievement (not reaching potential) are  placed on a Close Tracker monitored by head teacher and parents.

PP Children with Special Educational Needs placed on SEN register.

Children have their achievement monitored as per the schedule below.

Tracking and Monitoring of Pupil Premium

a.      Whole School Tracker employed for Teacher Assessment and Progress including EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)

b.       Whole School Tracker employed for SATs Levels and Progress.

c.      Mid-Year Assessments – February. Reported to Parents

d.       SATs Reviews. Annual July – August.

e.        Regular Dialogue between Head Teacher and Class Teacher on all the Children in the Class linked to Head Teacher, Key Stage and Subject Co-ordinator Lesson Observations.