Pupil Premium Funding

What is the Pupil Premium Grant?

The Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) is a government grant in addition to the main school funding that schools receive in their annual budgets. We believe that appropriate use of this money is the best way to close the gap in educational inequalities between children in school.

Pupil Premium Funds are received for every child who qualifies for Free School Meals (FSM) currently, or has qualified in the past 6 years - £1385 per eligible pupil. 

Eligibility for funding also includes all children who:

  • Have been looked after for one day or more
  • Were adopted from care on or after 30th December 2005 left care
  • Had a Special Guardianship Order on or after 30th December 2005
  • Had a Residence Order on or after 14th October 1991.

Looked After Children (LAC) and Post-Looked After Children, who have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, a child arrangement order or a residence order are entitled to receive £2410 of PPG.

Children from families serving in the Armed Forces or those families in receipt of a Minister of Defence Pension are also entitled to receive £320 PPG.

The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding for early years settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds.

Children must receive free early education in order to attract EYPP funding. They do not have to take up the full 570 hours of early education they are entitled to in order to get EYPP. Children become eligible for free early education at different points in the year depending on when they turn 3. Please note that 4-year-olds in primary school reception classes who already receive the school-age pupil premium are not eligible for EYPP funding. This means that in the financial year 2022 to 2023, providers will receive £340 for each eligible child who takes up the full 570 hours of state-funded early education they are entitled to.

Schools are free to allocate and spend the Pupil Premium Grant in the way they deem most appropriate, however Abercrombie Primary School is accountable for ensuring this grant is deployed effectively to progress the learning of eligible pupils. The senior leadership team, staff and governors rigorously evaluate how Pupil Premium money is spent and the impact targeted interventions are having on pupils' attainment, closing gaps and addressing barriers to learning.  Vulnerable groups are identified early, and appropriate interventions are put in place, funded by the Pupil Premium. The school tracks the progress and attainment of all children.

 

Transitional protection as part of Universal Credit rollout

From April 2018, the criteria used to determine which pupils are eligible for free school meals was updated to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit, and the phasing out of other income-based benefits.

To ensure families are not disadvantaged during this rollout, protection arrangements have been put in place.

This means that:

  • Any child who was eligible for free school meals on 31 March 2018 will retain their eligibility until the end of roll out, regardless of whether their circumstances change.
  • Any child who becomes eligible during the rollout of universal credit (from 1 April 2018 to the end of roll out) will retain their eligibility until the end of roll out, regardless of whether their circumstances change.
  • Once the rollout of universal credit is complete, no child will lose their entitlement and will continue to be transitionally protected until the end of the current phase of their education. 

Transitional protection is on an individual child basis and not on a family basis. This means that other children in the family will not automatically be entitled to free school meals. Children must meet the eligibility criteria at the time the application for free school meals is made in order to be entitled.

What is unique and distinctive about PP at Abercrombie?

CONTEXT:

Pupils development on entry is on average BELOW the expectation for their age when assessed using the expectations set out in ‘EYFS Development Matters’ and our own baseline assessments.

There are currently 251 pupils on roll including 36 Nursery children.

We also provide extended provision with a Breakfast Club and After School Club.

Our children are from a wide social mix.

72 children (9 of these children are in Nursery) are in receipt of Pupil Premium Funding (PPF).

Whole school 72/250 is 29% 

Boys   38/72 = 52.7%

Girls   34/72 = 47.2%

Limited Data in 2022 shows:

  • The number of children receiving Pupil Premium Funding at Abercrombie is 29% which is slightly higher than the National Average receiving Pupil Premium Funding (approximately 28.5%).
  • Abercrombie is in the 60th to 80th percentile for school deprivation suggesting that the school catchment area has higher deprivation than other schools nationally. In Derbyshire, Abercrombie School ranks in the highest sixth most deprived schools. We are number 40 out of 297 schools in Derbyshire (Number 1 being the most deprived in Derbyshire). This is significant because although our PP percentage is largely in line with the National figure, our deprivation rank suggests that many of our children come from low income families.
  • The percentage of EAL children at Abercrombie is 9% which is less than the national average percentage (19%). However, Abercrombie is particularly diverse when compared with other schools in Chesterfield and the surrounding area.
  • Across every year group, class data shows that PP children in our school make progress in line with their non-PP counterparts in Maths, Reading, Writing and Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation.
  • Currently, the numbers of SEN children who are also in receipt of PPG is 21%. Therefore approximately 1 in 5 PP children have a Special Educational Need.
  • 28 out of the 72 PP children are
    • currently under social care (10 children)
    • had prior involvement with social care
    • had support from the school pastoral worker this year.

This is 39% of PP children. Over one in 3 of our PP children.

Ofsted recognised in 2017 that “The senior leaders are increasingly effective at assessing the impact of the pupil premium on the outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Following an external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium, the senior leaders check the progress and achievement of disadvantaged pupils much more closely. This has enabled the leaders to be better at planning and monitoring the use of these additional funds to meet the needs of individual disadvantaged pupils.”  In 2019, OFSTED said “Leaders ensure that the pupil premium funding is used to support disadvantaged pupils’ academic and personal development.”

Each child within the school is seen as an individual with something unique and positive to offer. Our aim is to guide each child to fulfil their potential in a structured, caring and stimulating environment in order to provide the best possible education for the children of Abercrombie School. We aim to ensure that the school is orderly and hardworking and that children are prepared through a rich broad and balanced curriculum for life in modern British society. Ofsted said, “The school’s broad and balanced curriculum ensures that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is very effective. Enrichment activities and extra-curricular clubs equip pupils well, socially and emotionally, for their life in modern Britain. The fundamental British Values of respect, tolerance, service to others and democracy are ever present, and evident in even the youngest of pupils.”