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Pupil Premium

What is Pupil Premium funding

Introduced in 2011, the pupil premium funding is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.
This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers.
Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium grant is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their peers.

How to claim Pupil Premium funding

All children who currently qualify for free school meals based on their family circumstances are entitled to pupil premium. This applies if you receive any of the following benefits:

  • Universal credit (provided you have a net income of £7400 or less)
  • Income support
  • Income-based jobseekers’ allowance
  • Income-related employment and support allowance
  • Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guaranteed element of state pension credit
  • Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less

Children who are or have been in care, and children who have a parent who is or was in the armed forces, are also entitled to pupil premium.
In addition, pupils who have qualified for free school meals on the above grounds in the past, but are no longer eligible, continue to receive pupil premium for the next six years.
Schools are responsible for recording the children who are eligible for pupil premium in their annual school census - you don't have to do anything yourself, other than making sure you return any paperwork that relates to the benefits you receive or your child's entitlement to free school meals.

If your child qualifies for free school meals or has at any point in the past six years, it’s important that you tell their school – even if they're in Reception or KS1 and receive universal school meals for infant pupils, or are in KS2 and take a packed lunch – as this enables them to claim pupil premium.

If your family doesn't quite meet the criteria, but you are finding it more difficult at home, please speak Mrs Clark (PSA) or a member of staff, we can help you! We work closely with the local church and food bank, we can signpost you to other organisations who might be able to help. With the current cost of living families are experiencing an increasing amount of financial strain, please don't forget we are here to help in any way we can!

Is your child eligible? 

A child’s family circumstances are taken into account when determining whether or not they qualify for free school meals. To be eligible, they must be receiving one or more of the following benefits:

  • Income support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support as a result of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Working Tax Credit
  • Universal Credit (If a household is earning less than £7,400 per year.)

Children can be eligible for the pupil premium for a variety of reasons. These include their family circumstances, such as their income or occupations, and whether or not they’re in care. If a child is eligible, a school will receive the necessary amount of funding for each child per school year.

  • Primary schools receive £1345 for each pupil that is currently eligible for free school meals based on their family income.
  • Primary schools receive £1345 for every pupil that has previously received free school meals based on their family income. Pupils are eligible for funding for six years since they last received a free school meal.
  • All schools receive £2345 for every pupil that is currently in some form of care.
  • All schools receive £2345 for every pupil that has previously been in some form of care and has since been adopted or placed into a child guardianship order.
  • All schools will receive £310 for every pupil that has a parent currently serving in the armed forces, or receiving a pension from the Ministry of Defence

Pupil Premium Strategy 2022 to 2024

Statement of intent

Homefield VC C of E Primary School is a school that believes all children should make progress and reach their full potential. Our school vision ensures that ‘Curious Minds, Open Hearts & Joy of Learning’ is at the heart of all we do. At Homefield VC C of E Primary we strongly believe in providing the children with inspiring, creative and meaningful learning experiences that builds on their natural curiosity and ignites their passion for learning. Through our well sequenced, knowledge rich curriculum and a supportive environment we aim to create a culture with high expectations where children embrace the joy, awe and wonder of learning.

We aspire for all of our children to leave Homefield C of E Primary School, with high aspirations, having the confidence and knowledge they need to succeed as unique individuals, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face. The focus of our pupil premium strategy is to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve that goal, including progress for those who are already high prior attainers.

We will consider the challenges faced by vulnerable pupils, such as those who have a social worker and young carers. The activity we have outlined in this statement is also intended to support their needs, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not.

High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support. This is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap and at the same time will benefit the non-disadvantaged pupils in our school. We provide high quality CPD for our teaching staff with greater focus on areas that disadvantaged children require the most support. This is an entitlement for all children in our school and crucial to the sustained and improved attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that non-disadvantaged pupils’ attainment will be sustained and improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers.

Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in robust diagnostic assessment, not assumptions about the impact of disadvantage. The approaches we have adopted complement each other to help pupils excel. To ensure they are effective we will:

  • ensure disadvantaged pupils are challenged in the work that they’re set
  • act early to intervene at the point need is identified
  • adopt a whole school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve
The Pupil Premium Strategy for Homefield VC Cof E Primary School for 2022 -2024 has been added to the documents see below