Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap between them and their peers. The funding is to help improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.

Who is responsible for Pupil Premium finding at Wareham St Mary Primary School?

The staff member responsible for Pupil Premium funding is Mrs S Holt, the Deputy Headteacher.  If you have any questions or concerns, please come and speak to her and she will be happy to help. She is supported by the governor responsible for Pupil Premium funding, Mrs A Darling. Along with termly meetings, they both utilise a network of meetings throughout the year, linking with other Pupil Premium leads from other CLP schools. 

What does the Pupil Premium funding look like at Wareham St. Mary Primary School?

As a school, we receive a Pupil Premium grant for each child who is entitled to receive Free School Meals or who has been entitled to over the last six years, and for any ‘Looked After Children’. We publish online information about how we have used the premium.
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We aim for every Pupil Premium funded child to reach their full potential and make excellent progress in reading, writing and maths.  We also want the attendance of our Pupil Premium funded children to exceed the attendance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. To ensure this is achieved, we have largely targeted our pupil premium funding on the following four areas:

• Ensuring we provide first rate quality teaching
• Targeted interventions where necessary
• Pastoral care
• Enriching experiences

The funding is managed by the Pupil Premium lead, Mrs Holt and overseen by the Pupil Premium governor, Mrs A Darling.

The strategy is reviewed termly and evaluated at the end of each academic year. New targets are based on a combination of: data analysis, knowing our children and families extremely well and by using up-to-date research from recommended sources.

"School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils and schools are not required to spend all of the allocated grant on eligible pupils. It is for school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium, within the requirements of the conditions of grant." - Gov.uk

Who is entitled to Pupil Premium funding?

Your child may be entitled to Pupil Premium funding if you receive any of the following:

• Income Support 
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit; this is as long as you're not entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual gross income is no more than £16,190
• Working Tax Credit 'run-on' payment (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Universal Credit: this is as long as your household income is less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

If you apply, the school doesn't see any specific information about your income or the benefits you receive.

Infant free school meals in England

Your child will receive free school meals if they’re in a government-funded school and in:

• Reception class
• Year 1
• Year 2

You can still apply for the Pupil Premium funding if you qualify with any of the above and your child is in Reception, Y1 or Y2.  As a school, we will receive the extra funding if you apply and are successful and this is used to support your child at school.

How to apply for Pupil Premium funding

Please come and speak to us if you require help submitting an application or have any questions about the Pupil Premium funding. Alternatively, you can apply for Pupil Premium here: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/at-school/pupil-premium.aspx