The Government believes that Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between disadvantaged children and their wealthier peers, by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.

The amount received is dependent on the number of children who are eligible and have claimed for free school meals (FSM) at any time in the last six years (FSM ever6).

All schools are required to report on the amount of funding and how this is being used.  In addition, children whose parents work in the Forces or Children in Care also receive a pupil premium grant. Schools have the freedom to spend the Premium in a way they think will best support the raising of attainment for the most vulnerable pupils.

Principles of the Pupil Premium Funding

At St John’s we wholeheartedly believe that all children are entitled to a bright future and our mission statement underpins our belief in developing children so that they may live their lives to the fullest.

We recognise that not all children who receive free school meals will be academically disadvantaged and we also recognise that not all children that are disadvantaged have free school meals.

At St John’s, we believe in investing in high-quality teaching and learning in order to best meet the individual needs of all children through whole-class learning or Quality First Teaching.

We ensure that any child who has been identified as vulnerable or ‘disadvantaged’ has their needs accurately assessed and identified for targeted intervention.

We do this through additional support in reading, writing and maths, however Pupil premium resources are also used to target higher achieving children to ensure that they make at least good progress and are attaining at the highest levels. Funding is also used to support children’s behavioural and emotional needs to help ensure that their readiness for learning is high, therefore promoting their engagement with learning and progress across the curriculum.

Focussed intervention for our Pupil Premium children is made available through the additional staffing and associated learning resources. Focussed intervention will be inclusive of children receiving the Pupil Premium grant and may also be inclusive of other children in the school, including those on the register of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The Pupil Premium funding for St John’s in 2023-2024 is £205,155 

The range of provision in our school is based on research and identified best practice, including findings from the EEF which looks at the most effective strategies to help close the gap in Pupil Premium children’s attainment.

Provision includes a range of academic and pastoral interventions and strategies. Many of the pastoral interventions will impact positively on readiness for learning, engagement in learning, and children’s achievement and attainment.

The impact of the Pupil Premium Grant

In St John’s, we gather qualitative and quantitative evidence of the impact of the PPG- through observations, surveys, learning walks, SDQs, Pupil Premium profile and data tracking etc.

Our pupil premium strategy is reviewed annually, every September.