Pupil Premium

The pupil premium is additional school funding for disadvantaged children. It is paid directly to school to improve the quality of their education. The school may be entitled to pupil premium funding if you receive one of the following benefits: Income Support. Income Based Job Seekers Allowance.

The Pupil Premium – What Is It?

Pupil Premium is extra funding given to schools to improve the attainment and educational outcomes for children from low-income families who are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM), those who have been eligible for FSM in the last six years (also known as Ever 6 FSM) and children looked after by the local authority (LAC). Schools are held accountable for the spending of the Pupil Premium grant; performance tables and the school Pupil Premium report will capture the achievement of disadvantaged students covered by the Pupil Premium.

Is My Child Eligible for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Funding?

Your child may be eligible for Free School Meals – and according to Pupil Premium – if you receive any of the following benefits: Income Support, Income –based jobseekers allowance… child tax credit and have a gross national income of £16,190 or less. Please use the link to apply for Free School Meals through Islington Local Authority: https://www.islington.gov.uk/children-and-families/benefits-and-financial-support/free-school-meals-and-uniform-grant

Pupil Premium – Our Approach

Through Pupil Premium spending, we intend to ensure that disadvantaged pupils are as successful as their peers in achieving good progress, attainment and mental health. We understand children eligible for Pupil Premium funding face a number of barriers and challenges that can limit their educational achievement, compared to their peers. Pupil Premium students are not a homogeneous group, at Laycock School, the causes and consequences of disadvantage are varied: some Pupil Premium pupils experience multiple barriers, whereas others may have a specific issue that affects their learning. Students eligible for the Pupil Premium are more likely to be low attaining than other children. However, tackling disadvantage is not only about supporting low attaining, but also ensuring high and middle attainers our stretched and challenged during their time at Laycock School. We also identify and target other children at the school, who are not eligible for Pupil Premium funding, but also face many of the same barriers and hardships.

We implement a ‘whole school’ approach, that delivers ‘for all’, ensuring that every child, including disadvantaged and other target groups, are provided with an equal opportunity to access quality first teaching and make the next steps in their learning but also receive targeted levels of support that respond to their particular needs. We intend to maximise the impact of outcomes for disadvantaged children and other target groups by constantly developing the quality of teaching, implementing high quality interventions and using evidence informed approaches to tackle wider barriers. This approach begins in our Early Years provision, where many PP children arrive behind others, particularly in the area of communication and language.

The strategic use of Pupil Premium funding allows us to maximise attainment and make an impact on outcomes regardless of a child’s background or starting point. We follow a framework of regular assessments, followed up with pupil progress meetings, which enable our teachers to closely monitor and track the attainment of all pupils including Pupil Premium children. We ensure that any interventions we use are well thought out, well planned and well delivered. The Education Endowment Toolkit and other evidence based research are used to inform our allocation of Pupil Premium funds, and to stimulate support initiatives to combat barriers to learning, reduce gaps in attainment, and raise self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. We have developed these robust procedures to ensure we make a positive difference to our disadvantaged children, and give them every chance to succeed at Laycock School and beyond.