Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium is allocated to those children who are eligible for Free School Meals, Ever 6 funding is for those who previously qualified for Free School Meals, which continues for a further 6 years, (even if the child is no longer entitled to receive free school meals), and children whose parents serve in the armed services. Pupil Premium plus funding is for looked after children and previously looked after children.

School has to give details of how it is intended that the allocation will be or has been spent; details of how the previous year’s allocation was spent, and the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school, in respect of whom grant funding was allocated. Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium funding as they wish – but are held accountable, and must report on how the funding has been used to support these groups of children. This information is shared with governors at their termly meetings.

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

For those children receiving Pupil Premium plus), the government has said that the funding is to be spent on ‘helping adopted children emotionally, socially and educationally by providing specific support to raise their attainment and address their wider needs.’ This money is not ring-fenced and does not have to be spent on the individual child. , but schools need to take into account the child’s additional needs, which may be different from the needs of the children who attract the Pupil Premium.

At our small rural school, the barriers to educational learning may go beyond academic success. The isolated nature of living in the in the Dales can mean that access to learning beyond the classroom is a challenge. The limited numbers of peers, which the children grow up with and socialise with, is also restricted to a small number. Therefore, there is an increased likelihood that when meeting larger groups or new individuals there is a lack of confidence.

At Kettlewell Primary School, we realise that not all children who are eligible for Free School Meals are disadvantaged, and that not all pupils who are disadvantaged will be registered or qualify for Free School Meals, be looked after or from service families. Therefore, we allocate Pupil Premium funding on a needs basis where we identify priority classes, groups or individuals. Pupil Premium is used to help fulfil our vision and aims for all children and provide additional help and support for those children and families who may at times need something over and above the consistently good support we provide here. Where academic standards and progress do not require any intervention then Pupil Premium will be used to develop a skill or talent of the individual child and to support the learning of the year group in which that child is.

How the Pupil Premium plus funding is spent, is done so, in part, following consultation with parents and guardians. School and parents/guardians will consider if funding should be used to provide nurture and relationship opportunities; scaffold children’s social skills and peer relationships; support emotional literacy and emotional regulation; support children at times of transition; develop children’s executive functional skills and address barriers to information sharing and joint working.

Due to the size of our school, the potential for identifying pupils through the publishing of any report is inevitably greater. For this reason, it is our policy to publish a basic outline of how we have spent, and plan to spend, our Pupil Premium allocations and not to separate Pupil Premium funding from Pupil Premium plus funding.