Pupil Premium is a government grant in addition to the main school funding that schools receive in their annual budgets. Appropriate use of this money can help to address educational inequalities between children in schools.
Pupil Premium Funds are received for:
If a child is eligible for FSM and a parent applies, this triggers the funding.
If you think that your child might be eligible for FSM and you would like more information, please do contact the school office.
Schools are free to allocate and spend the Pupil Premium Grant in the way they deem most appropriate, however we are accountable for ensuring this grant is deployed effectively. The senior leadership team, staff and governors evaluate how Pupil Premium money is spent and the impact the money is having on pupils' attainment. Vulnerable groups are identified and appropriate interventions are put in place, funded by the Pupil Premium. The school tracks all disadvantaged children and targets the interventions.
New measures will be included in the performance tables that will report on the achievement of those pupils covered by the Pupil Premium. Schools are required to publish online information about how they have used the Premium to ensure that the community is very aware of how effective the grant has been to close the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils.
To find out about the government's Pupil Premium and how the school makes effective use of this funding you can read the Pupil Premium Reports which are separate for Bildeston and for Whatfield.
Staffing
Our school invests in additional staff across the school to facilitate the delivery of interventions to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils. We have small regular intervention groups from EYFS to Year 6 to ensure that children who may have barriers to learning are able to progress alongside their less disadvantaged peers. We also employ a maths teacher working for 1 afternoon a week.
We have a good staff to pupil ratio which benefits all children and impacts positively on their emotional well-being as well as their academic achievements.
Drawing and Talking Therapy
We have a trained drawing and talking therapist as a TA which benefits pupils in need of emotional support at any particular time. Pupils participate in a twelve week programme which supports their mental health.
Thrive
We are working towards developing the Thrive approach throughout our school. We currently have one thrive practitioner who delivers Thrive sessions once a week but is also available in school to be accessed when needed.
Breakfast Club and After-school clubs
We provide a daily breakfast club for all pupils. The school staff ensures that pupils eat well and enjoy a positive and healthy start to the day, as part of our healthy schools programme.
Our pupils enjoy a rich and varied range of subsidised extra-curricular clubs, which run daily during term time. Clubs change regularly but may include: multi-sports, tag rugby and athletics.
Funded places
For families in financial need we provide support with assistance with school trips and uniform, including pupils on the Safeguarding register and Looked after children.
Each year we subsidise various residential trips for a number of pupils, who would not have had the experience otherwise.
We also subsidise places for after-school clubs for Pupil Premium pupils.
Nurture/Social Groups
Our TAs have timetabled groups during the school week supporting those children who are identified as having a need. This is with parental consent.
Impact of the Pupil premium Grant.
The following data is taken from 2022
KS2 attainment and progress
End of 2022 | School | Disadvantaged Disadvantaged incl service | National 2022 | National Disadvantage |
GLD | 50% | PP – 0% PP incl service – 50% | 65% | 49% |
Phonics Yr 1 | 88% | PP- 100% PP incl service - 100% | 75% | 62% |
KS1 Reading | 86% | PP – 100% PP incl service – 80% | 68% | 51% |
KS1 Writing | 57% | PP – 100% PP incl service – 60% | 59% | 42% |
KS1 Maths | 86% | PP – 100% PP incl service – 80% | 70% | 52% |
External Validation
Ofsted judged Whatfield CEVC Primary to be Good in February 2018.
“Governors are passionate about the school and know it well. They work with you and your leaders to closely monitor the school’s work and to identify priorities for school improvement. For example, governors can talk confidently about the impact of activities funded by the pupil premium grant and the physical education (PE) and sport premium grant.
Keith Pullen- Ofsted Inspector