Pupil Premium

Grove Road - Statement of Intent

“If we can respond to the massive challenge to use the Pupil Premium funding to close the gap, we will have gone a long way to fulfil the purpose of education for the young people who need it most. We will have accepted the notion that no young person, by virtue of their birth, should necessarily achieve less than others.” (Sir John Dunford, National Pupil Premium Champion 2013-2015)

At Grove Road Primary School, we have high aspirations and expectations of all of our pupils irrespective of their background or the challenges they face. We are committed to ensuring each individual achieves their true potential. It is our priority to remove barriers to learning and help our children develop the skills necessary for them to achieve success throughout their lives. Through a combination of high-quality teaching, targeted small groups and one-to-one support and a focus on the development of the whole child, we nurture and support all pupils to take pride in their individual achievements, encouraging them to contribute to lessons and wider school life.We aim to improve the outcomes for our vulnerable and disadvantaged children in all areas of the curriculum.

The key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils are: 

• Heightened anxiety and emotional vulnerability
• Paucity of language and vocabulary
• Low self-confidence & resilience, affecting learning behaviours
• Aspirations and social capital
• Multiple presenting needs

Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 

 

What is the Pupil Premium?

Pupil Premium is an amount of money allocated to disadvantaged children in order to close the achievement gap.

The government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM), looked after children & service children and other pupils.  Three categories of pupils are eligible:

• Pupils recorded as ‘ever 6 FSM’ (pupils who are or have been eligible for FSM at any point during their 6 years of Primary school education)
• Looked after children and those children who have been adopted from care
• Children of Service personnel

Pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium need to be aged 4 and over, in year groups to year 11 in a maintained school. The proportion of children eligible at  Grove Road Primary is currently 9%. 

Pupil Premium is allocated straight to our school and it is clearly identifiable. Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they feel is appropriate. The government thinks that schools are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for individual pupils within their responsibility. However all schools will be held accountable for how they have used additional funding to support pupils from low-income families and in care. The schools must report and publicise annually how the money has been spent and what the impact has been made on the achievements of the pupils.