Pupil Premium Spending at St Mark’s CE Primary School

At St Mark’s, we are determined to afford all children every opportunity to flourish. We see our role in this as bound in the mission of the school, and empowering to us, as educators working in a Christian community, in securing social justice.

The information below gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant and how we allocate the funding.

What is Pupil Premium?

 ‘Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.’ (gov.uk, 2021)

This means the school receives extra funding for each eligible pupil. This includes:

• Pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible in the past 6 years
• Pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care
• Children who are looked after by the local authority

Who can apply?

You are eligible for free school meals if your family receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based)
• Employment and Support Allowance (income-based)
• Child Tax Credit based on an income below £16,190
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Asylum Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Working Tax Credit 'run-on' which is paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit (up to an annual net income of £7,400)

Although all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically qualify for free school meals, we encourage all eligible families to apply for the grant, as it helps the school raise standards for qualifying children as well as benefitting the school more widely.

The school also receives separate funding called the Service Pupil Premium for every pupil with a parent who:

• is serving in HM Forces
• has retired on a pension from the Ministry of Defence

How do I apply?

If you think you may qualify for Pupil Premium funding then you can fill in the form using this following link:

https://online.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/services/freeschoolmeals/

Please contact the school if you have any queries regarding entitlement.

How much the school receives

Currently 61 children across the school are eligible for the grant.

Other Associated Funding

The school also receives funding called the Recovery Premium- designed to support education recovery following the pandemic and the School Led Tutoring grant- to provide tutoring intervention following the pandemic. Funding for this is determined by Pupil Premium eligibility and is primarily aimed at raising standards for these pupils.

How the Pupil Premium is spent

The funding is used to improve the attainment of eligible pupils. We carefully identify the needs of pupils before allocating funding for the benefit of this group as well as for all children at the school. The funding is not attached to individual pupils.

The Pupil Premium Grant is spent in three areas:

Teaching

For example we use this funding to train teachers and Teaching Assistants in the most effective teaching techniques.

Targeted Academic Support

We use Pupil Premium funding to provide our Nurture and ELSA provision and in ensuring we have enough Teaching Assistants to enable effective intervention opportunities.

Wider Approaches

For example, we use funding to provide subsidies for school trips and to facilitate mental health initiatives such as TrickBox.

More details of how we use the grant can be found in the links at the bottom of the page.

How the Pupil Premium Grant monitored

Our processes and procedures are reviewed annually to ensure the effective spending of the grant, taking account of the latest guidance and advice, ensuring that the core purpose of the grant is to raise the attainment of eligible pupils.

School Contact and Queries

Mrs Saunders is the school’s Pupil Premium champion.