Pupil Premium Policy Statement

At Hazlemere Church of England Combined School all members of staff and governors accept responsibility for all pupils recognising that a significant number of pupils within the school population, some of whom are not eligible for Free School Meals, may at any point during their school career require additional support and intervention. We are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs in a nurturing environment. As with every child in our care, a child who is entitled to Free School Meals, and consequently the Pupil Premium Grant, is valued, respected and entitled to develop to his/her full potential, irrespective of disadvantage.

Background

The Pupil premium is allocated to children from low-income families who are currently known to be eligible for FSM and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months. It is also used for pupils who have been on the FSM register but no longer qualify. Schools have the freedom to spend the Premium, which is additional to the underlying schools budget, in a way they think will best support the raising of attainment for the most vulnerable pupils.

 In order to meet the above requirements, the Governing Body and staff of Hazlemere Church of England Combined School will ensure that provision is made which secures the teaching and learning opportunities that meet the needs of all pupils. During the new transition back to school following lockdown we are also prioritising the well-being and mental health of all our pupils. As part of the additional provision made for pupils who belong to vulnerable groups, the Governors and staff of the school will ensure that the needs of socially disadvantaged pupils are adequately assessed and clarified at termly pupil progress meetings. In making provision for socially disadvantaged pupils, the Governors and staff of Hazlemere Church of England Combined School recognise that not all pupils who receive free school meals will be socially disadvantaged. The Governors and staff also recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged are registered or qualify for free school meals. They therefore reserve the right to allocate the Pupil Premium funding to support any pupil or groups of pupils the school has legitimately identified as being socially disadvantaged.

Identification, implementation and development of provision

Academic intervention in addition to social, emotional and behavioural support are implemented through termly Pupil Progress Meetings. Analysis of tracking and progress is used as a vehicle to identify concerns and presenting issues and also as a measure of impact during the review process.

In addition, the school regularly considers current provision available in school and seeks to expand the range of support on offer; from within through training or from without by accessing external expertise. The school sees staff training in specific areas of expertise as a means to maximise value for money and ensure the longevity of PPG funded provision for future groups of pupils in school. For example, the training of teaching assistants in order to implement more effective interventions such as mental health support. All PPG funded intervention and provision is assessed and evaluated to measure impact. Subsequently activities are either maintained or modified for future implementation and any ineffective approaches are stopped.

Provision planning, including assessment of impact and affordability of provision takes place with Governor involvement with a named governor with responsibility for pupil premium.

Pupil Premium Strategy

The Pupil Premium is funding in addition to the school's budget. Schools are free to decide how to allocate this funding to best support the raising of attainment for the most vulnerable pupils. 

A summary of the main barriers: 

Unmet Personal, Social, Emotional Development needs, particularly for children on entry to EYFS

Attendance at a lower rate than non-disadvantage pupils

Emotional and social needs that impact on learning including mental health and wellbeing

Pupils in receipt of pupil premium, who enter school with lower starting points and require individualised provision

Parenting capacity

Our strategy to remove these barriers are outlined in detail within the action plan and includes key provision for:

• Investing in quality training for all staff especially focused on minimising the impact of Covid lockdown and school closure.
• Early identification with increased involvement during transition and induction
• Strong PP leadership through focused training and subsequent tracking and monitoring.
• Accelerated progress for all vulnerable, disadvantaged children
• To continue to improve attendance for all disadvantaged, vulnerable pupils.
• To continue to support with pupils mental health and wellbeing

The action plan will be reviewed termly and the impact monitored through the Strategy Committee and meetings with the named Governor.

Our tiered approach

To prioritise spending, we have adopted a tiered approach to define our priorities and ensure balance. Our tiered approach comprises three categories:

1. Teaching
2. Targeted academic support
3. Wider strategies

Within each category, we have chosen two or three interventions. This focused approach ensures the best chance of success for each intervention.

Quality of Teaching

Good and Outstanding teaching is the most important lever schools have to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Using the PPG to improve teaching quality benefits all pupils and has a particularly positive effect on children eligible for Pupil Premium.

Our priority at Hazelemere CoE Combined School is to ensure that a highly effective teacher is in front of every class, and that every teacher is supported to keep improving.

Encouraging self-led professional development: Facilitating weekly CPD opportunities for all teaching staff.

1. Professional development: Weekly individual and group coaching sessions to support teachers/TAs, with a particular emphasis on maths, literacy/vocabulary and curriculum development.
2. Professional Development for staff by attending targeted training courses and INSET.

Targeted academic support

At Hazlemere CoE Combined School we consider carefully how staff are deployed to provide specific targeted academic support either in a one to one or small group situation.

1. Structured interventions: Introducing speech and language interventions for pupils with poor oral language and communication skills.
2. Small group tuition: Introducing targeted English and maths teaching for pupils who are below age-related expectations. Creating additional teaching and learning opportunities using TAs.
3. Mental Health support, targeted focused work to help pupils understand and cope with the changing world since Covid-19.

Wider strategies

At Hazlemere CoE Combined School we aim to focus on the most significant non-academic barriers to success in school, including attendance, behaviour and social/emotional support.

1. Readiness to learn: Continued development of pupil resilience and ‘learning powers’.
2. Attendance: Use of office staff and SENDco to improve attendance and foster links with parents.
3. Providing a wide variety of enrichment experiences for all pupils.

Our review process

Annually reviewing a one-year pupil premium plan. Tracking pupil progress through internal school systems and through Governor meetings.

Individual targets are set for each pupil and their progress towards achieving these targets is analysed at the end of interventions.

The progress of pupils in receipt of the PPG is regularly discussed with subject teachers and at pupils progress meetings.

The Head Teacher is responsible for ensuring a pupil premium strategy is always in effect.

How will the school measure the impact of Pupil Premium Funding?

• Pupil Assessment (HFL) and FFT assessment tools are used by class teachers to measure attainment and progress at termly intervals through the year
• All teachers are responsible for tracking the progress of all vulnerable groups, including Pupil Premium, SEND and EAL. This information is then collated and monitored by senior leaders.
• Pupil Progress meetings are held every 6/8 weeks between class teachers and senior leaders to monitor impact and identify any concerns to be addressed.
• Attendance data is collected and monitored by the school office.
• When selecting pupils for intervention groups and support, this will not be limited to children who are in receipt of Pupil Premium funding, but will include other pupils who have similar needs, and who we believe will benefit from the support / intervention.
• Pupil Premium funding and its impact is a regular agenda item for the School Governor’s meetings.
• Designated staff member in charge: Mrs Baljit Bhabra (Head teacher)
• Monitoring, assessment and tracking: Senior leaders & SENDco
• Pupil Premium Responsible Governor: Mr Drew Wotherspoon