Castle Academy Astrea Academy Trust
Pupil Premium
What is Pupil Premium?
The pupil premium was introduced by the Government in April 2011 and is additional funding given to schools so that they can support their disadvantaged pupils and close the attainment gap between them and their peers.
The Government are not dictating how schools should spend this money, but are clear that schools will need to employ the strategies that they know will support these pupils to increase their attainment, and ‘close the gap’ between their attainment and the attainment of other pupils. As part of our duty to be publicly accountable for this additional funding and how we have used this to support pupils from low income families we are required to publish online information about how we have used this Pupil Premium. By doing so this ensures that parents and others are made fully aware of the attainment of pupils covered by the Premium and the extra support that they have received to enable this attainment.
Who is eligible for Pupil Premium?
In the 2019 to 2020 financial year, schools will receive the following funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years:
- £1,320 for primary-aged pupils
- £935 for secondary-aged pupils
Schools will also receive £2,300 for each looked-after pupil who:
- has been looked after for 1 day or more
- was adopted from care on or after 30 December 2005, or left care under:
- a special guardianship order
- a residence order
Schools will also receive £300 for each pupil who has a parent serving in the armed forces.
More information about Pupil Premium funding can be found on the government website:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium
Pupil Premium Presentation.
Pupil Premium Statement 2020
At this school and across schools nationally, the period from mid-March 2020 until the end of the academic year has been dominated by the outbreak of COVID-19. The much reduced opening of mainstream schools in March, followed by the wider opening of schools from 1st June 2020, has had a significant impact on the ability to implement many of the actions and strategies outlined in the Pupil Premium Strategy covering the period 2019-20.
Consequently, it has not been possible to thoroughly evaluate all planned strategies. However, where possible, a review has taken place and provision adapted to support our most disadvantaged pupils and their families.
Across Astrea Academy Trust, we have continued to strive to address any barriers faced by pupils who experience social disadvantage, including additional issues faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence-informed approaches we adopt across the Trust are rooted in tacking disadvantage in the classroom through supporting quality first teaching, targeted approaches/interventions and in relation to supporting wider pupil level issues such as attendance. All of which are in line with the EEF Guide to the Pupil Premium.
Many of the pupil premium chosen approaches are longer term and it will be necessary and desirable for leaders to continue some of the planned 2019-20 actions into the 2020-21 academic year and beyond. This is in line with the EEF guidance on Putting Evidence to Work – A School’s Guide to Implementation which states that interventions need to be implemented effectively and over time, allowing for new activities to be embedded and evaluated to create sustainable positive outcomes for disadvantaged learners
Pupil Premium Strategy 2020-21
In 2020-21 we have identified the following priorities within our Pupil Premium Strategy:
- Improved Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Increase use of evidence based interventions to improve academic outcomes across school.
- Improved language skills.
- Improved attendance and punctuality.
- Increased parental engagement in order to support pupil’s learning in school as well as at home
Pupil Premium Strategy 2020-21
Our Pupil Premium strategy is regularly reviewed through monitoring visits from Astrea’s Inclusion team and weekly discussion at Senior Leadership meetings.
Our Pupil Premium Strategy will be reviewed at the end of each academic year and impact statements will be published annually on the school website.
Our approach to the seven building blocks identified by NFER research, which leads to success in raising attainment for disadvantaged pupils can be found below:
NFER Disadvantaged Building Blocks
Historic Pupil Premium Strategies
Pupil Premium Strategy 2017-18
Pupil Premium Strategy 2018-19 Oct V
Pupil Premium Strategy 2019-20
Historic Pupil Premium Impact Statements
Pupil Premium Impact Statement 2017