Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium at The Acorns Primary and Nursery School 

 

What is Pupil Premium?  

This funding is to provide additional support to pupils who are: entitled to or who have been entitled to Free School Meals in the last 6 years; those who are ‘Looked After’ by the Local Authority; those that have been adopted; or those who are ‘Service Children’.  

The aim of the funding is to ensure that each child’s attainment is maximised and their educational experience enhanced.  

FUNDING 2023/24

In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, schools will receive the following funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years:

  • £1,455 for pupils in reception year to year 6
  • £1,035 for pupils in year 7 to year 11

Schools will also receive £2,530 for each pupil who has left local-authority care because of 1 of the following:

  • adoption
  • a special guardianship order
  • a child arrangements order
  • a residence order

ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE SCHOOL MEALS AND PUPIL PREMIUM

You may qualify if you are a parent, guardian or carer and receive one of the following:

  • Income Support (IS) or you are a pupil receiving the benefit in your own right
  • Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA)
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; or
  • Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income (as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
  • The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
  • Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • Children who get any of the above benefits in their own right (ie they get benefits payments directly, instead of through a parent or guardian) can also get free school meals.

If you feel you may be eligible, use this link to apply:

Free school meals | Cheshire West and Chester Council

 

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OR GET IN TOUCH WITH BENEFITS INFORMATION

  • Email: Benefits@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
  • Telephone: 0300 123 7021, Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm
  • By post: Revenues and Benefits Department, PO Box 187, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH34 9DB

If your child may be eligible because of your family’s income level, please register them; even if you do not wish them to have the meals, this would mean our school could still claim Pupil Premium Funding that can be used to help your child's education.

Pupil premium in the 2023 to 2024 academic year

As in previous years, we will continue to use the pupil premium to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

For 2023 to 2024, we will also use our recovery premium & tutoring grant alongside our pupil premium funding to improve outcomes.

How does The Acorns Primary School spend the Pupil Premium Grant?  

School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium.

Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across 3 areas, with a particular focus on teaching.

  1. Teaching

Investing in high-quality teaching, for example:

  • training and professional development for teachers
  • recruitment and retention
  • support for teachers early in their careers
  1. Targeted academic support

Additional support for some pupils focussed on their specific needs, for example:

  • one-to-one tuition
  • small group tuition
  • speech and language therapy
  1. Wider approaches

Support for non-academic issues that impact success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional challenges. For example:

  • school breakfast clubs
  • counselling to support emotional health and wellbeing
  • help with the cost of educational trips or visits

What are our pupils’ main barriers to educational achievement?  

  • Some of our pupils have had events in their lives that mean that they are not always ready to focus upon their learning.
  • Support at home is not always available or parents may not feel confident to help their child learn. Some children do not arrive in school ready to learn, or are persistently absent and late.
  • A number of pupils display specific learning difficulties such as dyslexic traits so struggle to: record their learning, remember things and organise themselves.  
  • Many of our children struggle to communicate effectively due to speech and language needs.  
  • Some of our children have not had a variety of rich experiences from which they can draw upon when learning.  

How is Pupil Premium used to support pupils at The Acorns Primary and Nursery School?  

The Pupil Premium Grant has enabled us to continue to develop and provide high levels of additional support for pupils. We have used the grant in a variety of ways over the years including: 

  • Two full time Family Liaison Officers supporting children and families  
  • A full time, qualified speech and language therapist to work with specific children  

  • Additional initiatives and rewards to encourage attendance and support families 

  • Subsidising residential visits, clubs, curriculum trips and visitors to enrich our children’s lives 

  • Subsidising before and after school care

  • Additional TAs to support teaching and learning and for specific intervention, inclduing small group and 1:1 tutoring

  • Additonal tutroing from outside agencies
  • Specific provision for idenitifed children in KS1 as part of a 'nurture group'

  • Subsidising before and after school club to ensure the cost is reduced for parents 

  • CPD for staff with a focus on Reading, Writing and Maths, including moderation and advice from consultants

  • Developing the outside environment to provide increased learning opportunities  

What is the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)? 

The EYPP is for children from low income families (defined as meeting the criteria for free school meals); children that have been looked after by the local authority for at least one day; have been adopted from care; have left care through special guardianship; and children subject to a child arrangement order setting out with whom the child is to live (formerly known as residence orders). 

High quality early education makes a difference to children’s academic attainment. This funding aims to give children the best start to their education.  

How does The Acorns Nursery use EYPP? 

We have used EYPP in a variety of ways, focused on individual needs of our children including: 

  • Resources to develop speaking and listening, promote reading especially for boys, encourage gross and fine motor control, develop an understanding of number 

  • Interventions to help with speaking and listening (such as Elklan)and fine motor control 

  • Electronic equipment such as talking clipboards to support learning 

Our Pupil Premium Leader, Mr Painter, along with the Governors, will publish information annually on how the Pupil Premium Grant has been spent (see documents below) to ensure that all our children can be the best they can be.  Governors review the strategy during School Improvement Committee meetings.

Files to Download

We would love to hear from you
The Acorns Primary and Nursery School
Pooltown Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 7ED
The Rowan Learning Trust
18 Beecham Court, Goose Green, Wigan, WN3 6PR
The Acorns Primary and Nursery School is a member of the Rowan Learning Trust. Company No. 8010464, Reg. Office: 18 Beecham Court, Goose Green, Wigan, WN3 6PR

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