Pupil Premium
All staff at Preston School are fully committed to closing the attainment and progress gaps that exist between eligible students and their peers. For us it is a very high priority and we see it as our moral duty to ensure that disadvantaged children make outstanding progress.
Key staff with specific responsibilities for leading improvements in outcomes for disadvantaged students are:
- Pupil Premium Governor: Debbie Sims
- Associate Assistant Principal: Mr T Kendall (Pupil Premium budget and strategy)
- Forces Group: Liz Hughes
- Year 11 Learning Manager: Ms R Evans
- Year 10 Learning Manager: Mr M Hope
- Year 9 Learning Manager: Mrs V Chenery
- Year 8 Learning Manager: Mrs R Hurrell
- Year 7 Learning Manager: Mr J Hinks
Narrowing the Gap: Using the Pupil Premium effectively
School context
Preston School is an average-sized secondary school. It has a subject specialism in business and enterprise. The proportion of students for whom the academy receives pupil premium for is 24.41% of the total student population. Pupil Premium funding is an additional government funding for students in the care of the local authority and those known to be eligible for free school meals. Students whose parents are serving in the armed forces are eligible for the Service Pupil Premium. 230 students were registered as eligible for Pupil Premium / Service Pupil Premium at the October 2022 census.
Population overview 2022/23
Pupil Premium funding allocated - £168,825
Total number of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium – 230.
Current number of eligible Pupil Premium students 2022-2023
Year 7: 57
Year 8: 53
Year 9: 41
Year 10: 42
Year 11: 37
Pupil Premium funding and principles
The Government believes that the Pupil Premium funding, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches pupils who need it most. Preston School was allocated £168,825 pupil premium funding for the academic year 2021/22 in addition to the main school budget.
The level of premium received into school is as follows;
- For each student currently eligible for free school meals or have received them in the last 6 years, since 2016 (Ever 6) the academy will receive £985.
- For current service children or families in receipt of an Arms Forces pension any time since 2016 the academy will receive £320.
- For children who are looked after in care, as recorded in the 2022 census, the academy will receive to £2410
- For children who are adopted from care the academy will receive £2410
Preston School fully support the thinking behind the Pupil Premium and believe that the best way for disadvantaged pupils to achieve is to be in a school with high expectations, a strong ethos of achievement, and where high quality teaching and learning flourishes. When a positive climate for learning is created along with targeted support, then the progress rates for pupil premium accelerates.
Our aim is that “everyone achieves” and the pupil premium funding is used to ensure that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential by making good progress, achieving well in external examinations and being prepared for the world of work. Our use of the Pupil Premium is covered by the following principles:
- That we maintain the highest expectations of all pupils and not equate disadvantage of circumstances with ‘low ability’
- That we promote an inclusive and collaborative ethos in their classrooms which enable pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to thrive
- That we plan and deliver the curriculum and lessons to a high standard and support the acceleration of progress in learning, so that gaps can be narrowed and improvements maintained
Tiered approach
Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across the following three areas below but focusing on teaching quality - investing in learning and development for teachers.
These tiers are listed below and more detail can be found in our attached Pupil Premium Strategy
Teaching e.g. Preston Way, coaching programme
Academic Support e.g. private tutoring, What Helps Me AS A Learner, intervention strategies
Wider Approaches e.g. Pupil Premium mentoring, educationally trip subsidies, Duke of Edinburgh Award subsidies, pastoral grants
Checking Eligibility
Free School Meal Premium
Children who attend a Somerset County Council school, whose parents or carers receive certain benefits may be entitled to free school meals.
Only the benefits listed here – and no other benefits – qualify you for free school meals for your children.
These are the benefits.
- Universal Credit with an annual household income of less than £7,400 after tax
- Income Support (IS)
- Employment and Support Allowance (Income related) – not Contribution related
- Income-based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA) – not Contribution based
- Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit.
- Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit with an annual taxable income (as assessed by HMRC) of less than £16,190, as long as the family is not also in receipt of Working Tax Credit.
If you have recently become unemployed, but are still receiving Working Tax Credits, you may be entitled to free school meals.
If you meet any of the above criteria, please click on the link below which will direct you to the Somerset County Council Free School Meals Online Application webpage.
Adoption Premium
Was your adopted child formally a ‘looked after child’ and adopted on or after 30 December 2005?
Schools in England can receive the Pupil Premium funding for children adopted from care, or who left care under a Special Guardianship Order on or after 30 December 2005. Schools can also claim the Pupil Premium for children who left care under a Residence Order on or after 14 October 1991.
To enable us to claim the Pupil Premium, which can then be used to further support your child, you will need to inform us about your child and provide supporting evidence, for example, show the school the original Adoption (Court) Order. You will need to self-declare before 1st January 2022, before the school completes the annual School Census in January. This will then trigger the payment of the Pupil Premium to the school from April 2021.
Service Pupil Premium
Service personnel with children (reception to year 11) in state schools in England should notify schools of their children’s service status to ensure they are recorded prior to the next spring census (21 January 2022) in order to qualify for Service pupil premium. See below link for guidance:
Eligibility criteria
Pupils attract SPP if they meet one of the following criteria:
- one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full time reserve service)
- they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on the January school census at any point since 2016,
- one of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
Service parents need to make the school aware of their status by indicating this in the admissions form or by contacting the school at Office@PrestonSchool.co.uk
