Premium Allocations
Pupil Premium
At Catchgate Primary School, we strive to break the link between family income and educational achievement, ensuring that children from all backgrounds can fulfil their potential and make the most of their talents.
Pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 to tackle ‘educational inequality’ by raising achievement and improving outcomes for children from low-income families who are eligible for free school meals; also pupils in care and those from families with parents in the Armed Forces. The additional funding is made available to schools to help them narrow the attainment gap that still exists between pupils from disadvantaged and more affluent backgrounds.
In 2011-12 the funding was set at £488 per pupil. This rose to £600 in 2012-13, £900 in 2013-14 and £1300 in 2014-15. In the 2015-2016 financial year, this figure rose to £1320 per child. The current level is £1345 per child.
From September 2012, schools have been required to publish online information to parents about how they have used the Pupil Premium funding and what the impact has been on learning, attainment and pupil wellbeing and/or pastoral care.
Aims
To ensure that our Pupil Premium funding is spent in the most effective ways we aim to:
- Target the funding well from the outset, being responsive and flexible to individual needs.
- Use progress tracking procedures effectively to identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual pupils and groups, in particular those children underachieving and eligible for
- Pupil Premium, and target intervention and support to accelerate their progress.
- Use effective intervention classes and individual tuition to improve achievements in English and Maths.
- Ensure that well-trained Teaching Assistants help to raise standards.
- Minimise the barriers to learning and achievement.
- Actively involve the governors in our decision-making processes.
- Effectively monitor and evaluate the impact of spending.
Principles
To help achieve the aims outlined above, Governors and Senior Leaders have agreed the following principles:
- Funding will be ring fenced so that it is always spent on target groups of pupils.
- Eligibility for the Pupil Premium will never be confused with low ability; it will focus on supporting our disadvantaged pupils to achieve the highest levels.
- Proper analysis will be undertaken to identify where pupils are underachieving and why.
- The use of research evidence, including the Suffolk Pupil Premium Guidance and OFSTED Pupil Premium report, will inform spending decisions.
- Teaching Assistants will be highly trained and understand their accountability for pupil achievement.
- We will have a clear policy on spending the Pupil Premium, agreed by governors and publicised on the school website.
- Careful monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken to demonstrate the impact of each aspect of spending on the outcomes for pupils.
- Our focus will be on high quality teaching, rather than relying on intervention to compensate.
- Frequent use of achievement data to check effectiveness of interventions; continuously adjusting techniques to meet the needs of pupils.
- Systematic focus on clear pupil feedback and advice for improving their work.
- Designated Senior Leaders will have an overview of funding allocations.
- All class-based staff will be aware of the Pupil Premium children in their classes so that they can take responsibility for their progress.
- Strategies are available for improving attendance, behaviour or family links if there is an issue.
- Governors will be actively involved in the decision-making and evaluation processes.
Evidence about What Works for Schools
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) provides up-to-date information on what works in raising the achievement of disadvantaged children. In order of impact it cites eight approaches:
1. Effective Feedback on Learning
Feedback for children and teachers on children’s performance relative to learning goals can be very effective in raising attainment if it is about challenging tasks or goals, focuses more on what is right than what is wrong, and encourages the child rather than threatens their self-esteem.
2. Metacognition and Self-regulation
Teaching children strategies to motivate themselves and plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning is a well-proven, high impact approach that carries little cost other than staff CPD.
3. Peer Tutoring
In these approaches learners work in pairs or small groups to provide each other with explicit teaching support. The boost to attainment provided by peer tutoring is apparent for both tutor and tutee (particularly in cross-age tutoring).
4. Early Intervention
Research shows that high-quality early years provision, with a strong educational focus and activities which support early reading and number concepts, is beneficial for disadvantaged pupils.
5. One-to-one Tutoring
There is good evidence that providing intensive 1:1 remedial tuition, for short, regular sessions over set period of time can enable children to catch up with their peers.
6. ICT
Investing in digital technologies to support learning can be effective, particularly if used to supplement teaching, rather than replace more traditional approaches.
7. Phonics
The evidence suggests that phonics can be an important component in supporting the development of early reading skills, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
8. Parental Involvement
Activities that involve parents in supporting their children’s learning can be effective, though ensuring that there is an impact on children’s attainment is challenging and needs effective monitoring and evaluation.
These approaches will be taken into account when making decisions about the spending of our Pupil Premium.
Key Activities
Activities that we have undertaken using the Pupil Premium, and that have impacted on closing attainment gaps include:
- Reading, writing and numeracy interventions for target groups.
- Reading and other resource purchases to benefit targeted pupils and groups.
- Funding additional Teaching Assistant time and resources for specific intervention programmes and pre-teaching
- Providing pastoral care through early intervention
- Subsidising or paying for educational trips and residential visits.
- Forest School provision throughout KS1
- Music and singing lessons delivered to Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 by trained music teachers.
- Subsidising individual music tuition
- Weekly French lessons delivered throughout Key Stage 2 and Year 2.
- Behaviour Support worker delivering in-class and external support to vulnerable pupils to help develop strategies for coping with challenging situations.
Praise for our Pupils
Covid Catch Up Premium
Funding Allocation
Schools’ allocations will be calculated on a per pupil basis, providing each mainstream school with a total of £80 for each pupil in years reception through to 11.
As the catch-up premium has been designed to mitigate the effects of the unique disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), the grant will only be available for the 2020 to 2021 academic year. It will not be added to schools’ baselines in calculating future years’ funding allocations.
Use of funds
Schools should use this funding for specific activities to support their pupils to catch up for lost teaching over the previous months, in line with the guidance on curriculum expectations for the next academic year. (See also EEF - School Planning Guide 2020-21 )
Schools have the flexibility to spend their funding in the best way for their cohort and circumstances.
Accountability and monitoring
As with all government funding, school leaders must be able to account for how this money is being used to achieve our central goal of schools getting back on track and teaching a normal curriculum as quickly as possible.
Given their role in ensuring schools spend funding appropriately and in holding schools to account for educational performance, governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ approaches to catch-up from September, including their plans for and use of catch-up funding. This should include consideration of whether schools are spending this funding in line with their catch-up priorities, and ensuring appropriate transparency for parents. (DfE guidance - Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium - updated 24/08/2020)
Sports Premium
Catchgate PE Mission Statement
It is our aim at Catchgate Primary School Primary to provide the opportunity for our children to safely experience a range of sporting activities for their fun and enjoyment. Through carefully planned PE and sports activities we aim to ensure that all children are happy and enjoy PE, thus raising participation levels both in and out of school and therefore in turn, promoting healthy lifestyles.
We strive to provide high quality PE and sports teaching in both curriculum and after school clubs. We aim to ensure that within their own level of ability all children can achieve and experience success, thereby enabling them to reach their full potential.
We value the benefits of PE and sport to build children’s self confidence, esteem and self worth which is character building and essential for our pupil’s development.
We aim to provide opportunities for all children to experience competition at various levels both individually and as part of a team by means.
What is the Sports Premium?
The government is providing funding again for the current academic year to improve the provision of physical education and sport in primary schools. This funding is being jointly provided by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport and will see money going directly to primary school head teachers to spend on improving the quality of sport and PE for their children.
During the funding year 2023 - 2024, school will receive £18,825 in funding.
Purpose of the Funding
The School Sport Premium money is ring fenced and can only be spent on Physical Education and sport provision in school. Schools will be expected to spend the funding on improving and enhancing their provision of physical education and sport, but they will have the freedom to choose how to do this.
How will we spend our allocation at Catchgate?
PE and Sport is important and valued at Catchgate Primary School and this funding will help us to enhance and sustain current and future progression. It is of the upmost importance to us that all children benefit from this sports funding, regardless of sporting ability.
For more detailed information about our P.E. plan please refer to the attached PE and sport premium action plan.
How we use our PE and sport premium
We are free to choose the best of way using of the funding to improve the quality of the PE and sport activities we offer to our pupils,
Here are some examples of what we do:
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running sports competitions and intra-school events
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upskill the PE leads by accessing training and attending Local Authority network meetings
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provide existing staff with teaching resources to help them teach PE and sport
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support and involve the least active children by running or extending school sports clubs
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co-ordinate sports activities with other schools across the district
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develop resources across the school grounds
Mr Andrew Whitehead is the Governor with responsibility for overseeing the sport premium spend. He meets termly with the Head teacher to ensue the action plan is being implemented.