PUPIL PREMIUM

Strategy to support disadvantaged students close the gap

The Pupil Premium Statement 2022 – 2025 can be found here

What do we mean by disadvantaged?

In the conditions of grant for the pupil premium, the DfE says that ‘disadvantaged pupils’ are:

• Pupils in year groups reception to year 11 recorded as ‘ever 6 free school meals (FSM)’
• Eligible pupils in year groups reception to year 11 with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
• Looked after children (LAC), defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority (LA)
• Children who have ceased to be looked after by an LA in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, or a child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order)

The pupil premium is a grant given by the government to schools in England to decrease the attainment gap for the most disadvantaged children, whether by income or by family upheaval. For each pupil who is eligible for free school meals, their school receives £1,455 (if a primary school) or £1,035 (if a secondary school).

Closing the gap

The reason disadvantaged students have historically made less progress than other students are complex.  There are a number of barriers  all students can face while progressing through their education.  It is more likely a disadvantaged student will face multiple barriers that will compound students chances of achieving success, so it is important for the school to deliver a strategy that focuses on removing as many of these hurdles as possible.

Our Statement of Intent for Disadvantaged Pupils

We aim to inspire students of all attainment profiles and backgrounds, as they follow an academic curriculum that exposes them to the rich cultural heritage of ages past whilst providing them with the skills and knowledge that they need to thrive in a modern, dynamic global society.  To that end, we aim to both raise the achievement of all our learners, as well as ensure that we close the gap between our student groups. At Bottisham Village College, in recent years, the proportion of students with Pupil Premium has increased as we have grown in size and our student demographic has changed.  Research indicates that disadvantaged students achieve better outcomes when they attend a good school and receive excellent teaching.  It is, therefore, appropriate to ensure most of their needs are increasingly met through high-quality universal provision with a relentless focus to ensure our curriculum, teaching and learning are excellent and meet the needs of all learners.  Our model to achieve success with these students is therefore as follows: 

• High-Quality Curriculum, Teaching and Learning – Improve the progress of disadvantaged students by ensuring high-quality teaching and learning. 
• Use of assessments to identify and target support – Effectively use data based on high-quality assessments to identify disadvantaged students that are not making the required progress and target these students for interventions. 
• High levels of school attendance and parental engagement – Improve engagement with disadvantaged parents in the community and support parents facilitating learning at home.  
• Access to high-quality Enrichment aimed to raise aspirations – Ensure all disadvantaged students have the opportunity to engage in a wide range of extra-curricular activities to support progress and enrich their education and raise aspirations. 
• Remove resourcing barriers – Ensure all disadvantaged students have the resources they need to support their learning both inside and outside of school.  This includes ensuring there is digital equity.