Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium at Bowdon Church School
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people
Hebrews 6:10
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased
Hebrews 13:16
Pupil premium and free school meals
If your child is eligible for ‘free school meals’ and you register them for this, we’ll receive extra funding called ‘pupil premium’. We use this extra money to improve the educational provision and resources at the school.
What is pupil premium funding?
Pupil premium funding from the government is given to schools to help pupils reach their full potential, regardless of their background or financial situation. It’s provided for pupils who:
- Are registered for free school meals
- Have been registered for free school meals at any point in the past 6 years
- Are, or have been, in care
- Have parents in the armed forces
'Educational attainment is the best predictor that we have of a young person’s long-term outcomes' (EEF Guide to Pupil Premium)
Pupil eligibility and funding rates 2023 to 2024
This table shows how pupil premium funding is allocated to schools and local authorities.
Allocations are provided on a financial year basis, based on pupil eligibility rates in the previous October school census.
Since the COVID pandemic, schools have received additional funding for their Pupil Premium eligible children (Recovery Premium), to reflect the fact that the pandemic disproportionately impacted disadvantaged children.
| Pupil eligibility criteria | Amount of funding for each primary-aged pupil per year | Funding is paid to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years (including eligible children of families with no recourse to public funds) | £1,455 | School | |
| Pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care | £2,530 | School | |
| Children who are looked after by the local authority | £2,530 | Local authority |
Service pupil premium (SPP)
Service pupil premium is additional funding for schools, but it is not based on disadvantage.
Pupils in state-funded schools in England attract service pupil premium funding, at the rate of £335 per eligible pupil in 2023 to 2024, if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
- one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces
- they have previously been registered as a ‘service child’ in any school census in the last 6 years
- one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces, and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
This funding is primarily to help with pastoral support. It can also be used to help improve the academic progress of eligible pupils if the school deems this to be a priority.
Use of the pupil premium
School leaders can decide how to spend pupil premium and evidence suggests that the funding is most effective when used across 3 areas:
- high-quality teaching, including staff professional development
- targeted academic support, such as tutoring and academic or pastoral intervention groups
- wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools, such as attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional support
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) recommends that schools particularly focus their pupil premium on supporting high-quality teaching.
Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils, and schools are not required to spend all of their allocated grant on eligible pupils.
At BCS, we allocate the funding we receive from Pupil Premium to support the learning and wellbeing of all children who are educationally disadvantaged, be it due to family circumstances, learning differences or pastoral needs.
How we use Pupil Premium funding at Bowdon Church School
Inclusive Quality First Teaching (IQFT)
We privilege the training and development of our staff, to ensure that we deliver the richest curriculum, using evidence-led pedagogy. This benefits all children, but especially those who are educationally disadvantaged. Our Senior Leadership team is very closely involved in the progress and wellbeing of all children in receipt of Pupil Premium funding and those who are educationally disadvantaged.
Supporting Vulnerable Groups
We have a number of pupils who are disadvantaged as a result of family circumstances. One of the major barriers to learning for some is the emotional issues they may face and the impact this has on their attitude to and behaviour in school. We prioritise the use of our Pupil Premium funding to not only support pupils academically, but also emotionally. Our Pastoral Team provides a mentoring service, aimed at increasing self esteem and improving attitudes to learning. We also work with external professionals and 1-2-1 therapy is provided by counsellors when needed, to address individual issues and to offer emotional and mental health support. The pastoral team in school supports children on a daily basis, in the form of 1:1 emotional support and group sessions, structured play activities and through emotional coaching, including self regulation.
Supporting Curricular and Extra-curricular activities, Attendance and Punctuality
We feel very strongly that our enrichment programme should be available to children whose families are unable to financially support these opportunities. Pupil Premium is used to provide equal opportunities by supporting attendance at school clubs, together with assisting with the financial pressure of funding uniforms and school trips.
The academic progress of all children in school is reviewed and discussed by the school leadership team termly, with a spotlight on children in receipt of Pupil Premium. We aim to ensure frictionless access to the curriculum and to facilitate accelerated progress within it, as well as being aware of and reducing barriers to wellbeing and attainment such as attendance and punctuality.
Please see below for our Pupil Premium Strategy & Statement for 2023-24, as well as historic versions from 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Impact from school years 2019-21
Children received play therapy and/or sensory therapy, lego therapy and small group intervention aimed at social communication and emotional support. These children have benefited greatly, as evidenced by their increased focus and good behaviour in class and in social situations. Many children also received significant pastoral support. Across the school, the number of children working below or towards age-related expectations decreased and our wellbeing surveys and pupil voice activities indicated that our children feel settled and supported in school.
Children made steady progress, with some increasing their rate of progress in at least one core area. A significant proportion of Pupil Premium children had additional SEND needs, which impacts rate of progress.
Children benefited from equality of opportunity in terms of participation in extra-curricular clubs, on trips and residentials.
Families benefited from not feeling pressured to fund school extras.
- The school liaised with secondary schools to attempt to ensure continuity of provision, including encouraging families to take advantage of familiarisation sessions at local grammar schools.
- We very closely monitored the wellbeing and academic performances of our Pupil Premium eligible children during the COVID pandemic. They, and all others we considered educationally disadvantaged and/or vulnerable, were invited into school along with Key Worker Children during periods of lockdown.
Is your child eligible for Pupil Premium?
Please check using this link: