Pupil Premium
At Oxbridge Lane Primary School, we believe that all children are entitled to an education which allows every child to achieve their potential regardless of their starting point in life or personal circumstances. The government believes that the additional funding provided for Pupil Premium children is the best way to tackle those inequalities to enable children to have the best outcomes.
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The attainment gap between pupils from lower income backgrounds and their more affluent peers is well documented through all stages of education. After prior attainment, poverty is the single most important factor in predicting a child's future life chances. Even the highest early achievers from deprived backgrounds are overtaken by lower achieving children from advantaged backgrounds by the end of Key Stage One and the likelihood of a pupil eligible for FSM achieving the expected levels of progress are one third those of a non-FSM pupil. The Government therefore believes that making additional funding available to schools will give the poorest children who achieve less well a better start in life.
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Our Pupil Premium allocation for the 2021/22 academic year is £231,340.
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Which pupils are entitled to Pupil Premium?
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Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) is provided to all schools to support pupils within the following categories:
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Pupils who are currently registered for Free School Meals.
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Pupils who have been registered for Free School Meals at any point during the last six years;
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Pupils in the care of a Local Authority;
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Pupils who have been adopted but have been looked after for one day or more, or were adopted from care on or after 30th December 2005 and left care under:
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A Special Guardianship Order on or after 30th December 2005
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A Residence Order on or after 14th October 1991
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Pupils whose parents are serving with the UK Armed Forces
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How can I find out if my child is entitled to the Pupil Premium funding?
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The process for applying is straightforward and confidential. You can check online using a ‘Free School Meals / Pupil Premium Service’ at https://www.forms.stockton.gov.uk/ufs/ufsmain?formid=CESC_020_FSM&ebd=0&ebz=1_1473761089383. After entering essential details into the web site, the online application process links to the Department for Education system for checking eligibility and gives an immediate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, and will notify our school. Alternatively, you can speak to a member of the office staff by calling 01642 807421 (10am-4pm), who will be able to assist you through this process. All enquires will be treated in confidence.
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Children in Reception and KS1 are automatically entitled to a free school lunch; however, registering your child for free meals will entitle them to additional support with the cost of school visits, PTA events and extra-curricular clubs, as well as raising additional funds for the school.
What is Pupil Premium spent on?
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The decision about how the individual schools use their Pupil Premium is left to each school with the expectation that they will close the gap in attainment and progress between those eligible and other children nationally. “It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.” (DfE). Therefore, schools are free to spend the PPG as they see fit. However, they will be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support these pupils. Measures are included in the performance tables which capture the achievement of those disadvantaged pupils covered by the grant.
In June 2019, EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium was published by the Education Endowment Foundation which support schools in spending their Pupil Premium to maximise the benefit for their students. The report recommends school take a tiered approach to Pupil Premium spending. Teaching should be the top priority, including professional development, training and support for early career teachers and recruitment and retention. Targeted support for struggling pupils should also be a key component of an effective Pupil
Premium strategy; as well as strategies that relate to non-academic factors, including improving attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support. As a school we have used the information and research within this report to guide our spending of Pupil Premium money.
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Government's Policy Paper on Pupil Premium - Published 30th January 2020
How is funding used at Oxbridge Lane Primary School?
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At Oxbridge Lane Primary, we use funding in a range of ways to support all pupils including those who qualify for Pupil Premium. Each year we put together a comprehensive plan of how we will do our best to allow our pupils to meet their full potential. Class teachers and teaching assistants know which children are identified as pupil premium and in termly pupil progress reviews they are a specific focus group. At the end of the academic year we then analyse the impact of any additional support, interventions and strategies used to ensure they provide best value and that progress has been made.
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We have developed an action plan (a Pupil Premium Funding Strategy) in order to continue to improve provision and raise achievement for all children in receipt of pupil premium funding. This document can be downloaded below.
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Early Years Pupil Premium Funding
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Since April 2015, Schools, Nurseries, child-minders and other childcare providers have been able to claim extra funding through the Early Years Pupil Premium to support children’s development, learning and care. The EYPP will provide Oxbridge Lane Primary with extra funding to close this gap. The EYPP provides some funding for three and four year old children whose parents are in receipt of certain benefits or who have been in care or adopted from care.
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Research and data shows that children eligible for free school meals perform less well, and that high quality early education can influence how well a child does at both primary and secondary school. You may be aware if you have older children that a pupil premium has been available for school age children and it has proved to have given a real boost to the children receiving the funding. We want to do the same for our early years children entitled to this funding. This additional money could make a significant difference to us and your child. We can use the extra funding in any way we choose to improve the quality of the early years education that we provide for your child. To do this, we would use the funding for: additional training for our staff in early language, investing in partnership working with our colleagues in the area to further our expertise or supporting staff in working on specialised areas such as speech and language.
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All parents whose child is attending Nursery will be asked to complete a form during enrolment or this can be obtained from the school office. By completing this document, it will allow us to claim the additional EYPP for your child.