Pupil Premium Spend - Information for Parents

The pupil premium is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.

Pupil premium funding is available to both mainstream and non-mainstream schools, such as special schools and pupil referral units. It is paid to schools according to the number of pupils who have been:

• registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years
• been in care for 6 months or longer

If you feel you may be eligible for Free School Meals, but have not claimed them, please contact us via the School Office, as Pupil Premium makes a real difference to the opportunities we can give to pupils at Bishopthorpe Infant School. 

In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, schools received:

• £1,385 for each eligible primary-aged pupil

Schools will also receive £2,570 for each pupil who are:

• adopted from care or have left care
• looked after by the local authority

Schools will also receive £335 for children from service families.

Accountability

Headteachers and school governing bodies are accountable for the impact of pupil premium funding in the following ways:

• performance tables, which show the learning and progress of disadvantaged pupils as shown by outcomes data
• requiring schools to publish a statement online each year with the level of pupil premium funding received by the school, how they use it and the impact it has on the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.
• the Ofsted inspection framework, where inspectors focus on the attainment of pupil groups, and in particular those who attract the pupil premium 

Key principles how the pupil premium is spent at Bishopthorpe Infants:

• aims to raise achievement for pupils who are eligible for Pupil Premium to at least the level of their peers. The school is aware that this means that some of these pupils must make faster progress than non-eligible pupils and is determined to achieve this.
• never confuses eligible pupils with low ability and strives to ‘bring out the best’ in this group of pupils and support them to achieve the highest levels.
• creates an overall package of support aimed to tackle the range of barriers including: attendance, behaviour, external factors, professional development focusing on improving outcomes for eligible pupils, improving the quality of teaching and learning, language acquisition, parental engagement, opportunities for first-hand experiences and development of literacy and numeracy skills.
• uses assessment systems to track and enable thorough analysis of data (Reading, Writing and Maths) to identify pupils who are under achieving and why.
• directs resources and interventions to accelerate progress of eligible pupils and close the attainment gap compared to their peers.
• uses data to carefully track the impact of targeted spending (interventions, projects or pedagogy) on attainment and progress of eligible pupils.
• The Headteacher and Pupil Premium Leader have a clear overview of how funding is allocated and the difference it is making to the outcomes of pupils termly.
• ensures class teachers, phase leaders and subject leaders know which pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium so they can take responsibility for accelerating progress and accountability is shared across the school.
• The Governing Body is ambitious for pupils and closely monitors the school’s effectiveness in closing the gap between different groups of pupils.

The date of the next pupil premium strategy review is 31st December 2023.