Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium is a funding allocated to schools by the Department of Education to increase social mobility and reduce the gap in performance between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. Its purpose is to raise attainment, accelerate progress and fulfil the achievement potential of all children. Schools receive funding for each disadvantaged pupil and can use the funding flexibly, in the best interests of eligible pupils. It is up to schools to decide how to spend the Pupil Premium funding because they are best placed to assess what additional educational provision should be put in place to ensure maximum progress for all the children within their care. All schools will be held accountable for how they have used the Pupil Premium funding and the impact it has had on the children's learning.

At Alder Grove, we aim to overcome the barriers pupils have to future academic attainment. We believe with the right kind of support we will enable the targeted children to engage with the curriculum, improve their progress so that they feel ready and are prepared to take the next step in their educational journey and, eventually, as they move on to secondary school. The barriers that pupils receiving pupil premium funding have to overcome are often complex. Pupils often fall into multiple categories of need, such as Special Educational Needs, English as an Additional Language, anxiety issues, low self-esteem and lack of confidence. Our approach to overcoming these barriers is, therefore, personalised to each pupil.

Within the The Keys, examples of the range of support includes:

• Additional learning groups and individual sessions focused on improving progress in the core subjects of reading, writing and maths.
• Additional teachers for maths/literacy so teaching groups are smaller
• Pastoral/nurture groups/art therapy and individual sessions providing support and development of personal, social and positive behaviour skills.
• Allocating funding for specialist support from Foundry College (Behaviour Management Specialists) Speech and Language Therapy and Educational Psychologists
• Financial support for curriculum enrichment activities and school residential visits and other educational day visits.
• Access to a Parent Support Advisor who is available to offer advice and support within each school community.
• Access to a range of extra-curricular activities.
• Senior Leadership time to monitor progress, liaise, report and support identified pupils and families.

The CEO works closely with the Leadership teams in all schools and ensures that the expectation of improving outcomes for disadvantaged learners is a key focus in all schools within the Trust. Leadership meetings across the The Keys are held at least once every half term. Leaders examine good practice across the Trust and beyond and work collaboratively to develop best practice.