Pupil Premium

PUPIL PREMIUM

Additional funding for publicly funded schools in England.

WHAT IS PUPIL PREMIUM FUNDING?

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

WHO QUALIFIES FOR FREE SCHOOL MEALS?

Families are entitled to free school meals for their children if they are in receipt of certain benefits.

PUPIL PREMIUM BENEFITS

Free school meals
Support with additional music lessons
Help with the cost of residential school trips

What are the benefits of Pupil Premium Funding and why are Free School Meals important?

The benefits of children getting a free and nutritionally balanced meal are well documented, but did you know that children who qualify for Free School Meals may also get help with the following:

• Help with the cost of residential school trips

• Support with additional music lessons at school.

• Extra funding to support them at school. This funding is known as the Pupil Premium. Our school will get £1,385 this year for every child registered for Free School Meals

If your child is entitled to Free School Meals now, they will be entitled to Pupil Premium Funding for at least the next six years.  You are able to apply online for quick and easy confirmation of eligibility at www.hertsdirect.org/freeschoolmeals or phone on 0300 123 4048 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or between 9am and 4pm Saturday, or see Mrs Winwood or Mrs Carter to discuss this further.

Pupil Premium Grant Spending Plans for 2023/24

Pupil Premium Grant is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for Free School Meals, have been entitled to it in the last six years or service personnel pupils in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months.  In line with government guidance, this money is used to support these pupils at Aston St Mary’s Church of England Primary School.

These pupils are identified as disadvantaged pupils.  Research shows being disadvantaged backgrounds has a big influence on the pupils’ life chances, with them being twice as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) and a higher risk of ending up in poverty as adults.  Therefore, the government provide schools for these pupils to be used effectively to improve their disadvantaged pupils’ life chances.

At Aston St Mary’s School we have a culture where we have high expectations for all pupils.  This includes improving attendance, behaviour for learning, meeting individual pupils needs and providing high quality teaching for all.

The school will receive £7,885 for 2023/24, but will spend additionally to ensure good progress, the wellbeing of our pupils and equal opportunities for all. The money will be spent on addressing the individual needs of each pupil entitled to this funding. As in 2022/23, this year we will spend the money as previously: 

  • Additional classroom support for PPG pupils in whole class setting, with a focus on catching up on learning lost through lockdown.
  • Support with funding for extra curriculum activities to develop the whole child.  This will include music lessons, residential and school trips and additional professional sports coaching.
  • Thorough extended termly pupil progress meetings, the planning and evaluating of impact of specific interventions.
  • The deployment of an HLTA/LSA with specific responsibilities for the emotional wellbeing of pupils, working with the whole class and targeted individuals to ensure all pupils are ready to learn and therefore make progress.
  • The purchase of resources for pupils to use at home to support their progress.

For 2023/24 the school will also invest Pupil Premium money by employing experienced Teaching Assistants to support our disadvantaged pupils during whole class, small groups, lead interventions and work on a one-to-one basis with the pupils.  This was continued due to the success the previous academic year. 

All interventions will be rigorously monitored and evaluated by the Senior Leadership Team to ensure positive impact and good progress for all Pupil Premium pupils, whilst providing good value for money. 

Document NameFiles
Pupil Premium Report 2023Download File