Pupil Premium was introduced by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2011, as additional funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority, those who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years (also known as Ever 6 FSM) and for children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces.

The funding was introduced, as it has been recognised that good education is the key to improving young people’s life chances. This is particularly true for children from low-income families, or who are Looked After Children, who are less likely to leave school with a good standard of GCSE results. The Pupil Premium, using additional resources from outside the School’s Budget, is intended to address the current inequalities by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most.

Pupil Premium Spending

Our pupil premium money is used to provide a range of additional support for our children. This includes interventions, along with providing high quality pastoral support and raising the level of quality first teaching. We ensure each child who qualifies for pupil premium is considered on an individual basis, looking at how we can use our funding to support that child and their unique needs. All staff are work hard to eliminate barriers to learning in order to enable good progress for all pupils.

Identified Barriers to Educational Achievement

At The Oaktree, our pupil premium pupils are a very diverse group and as such there are a range of issues affecting achievement. This includes: distressed families or family circumstances, lack of support at home, SEND or learning needs, Children’s Services involvement, mobility and or health needs. As well as this, some pupils additionally fall into other groups such as SEND or EAL.

How will the School Measure the Impact of the Pupil Premium?

To monitor progress on attainment, new measures have been included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of pupils covered by the Pupil Premium.

At The Oaktree School, our usual methods of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of the cohort’s attainment, will be used to inform pupil progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention. Data progress meetings will take place each term and will include members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and class teachers. At each milestone, the school will review the impact of actions and interventions taken so far and then plan forwards. When selecting pupils for Pupil Premium target groups, the school will look at all pupils across the school. There are some pupils who are not eligible for PP who will benefit from these groups if their needs are similar and we believe progress can be made towards individual targets. 

Whole Class Trackers

Alongside the Pupil Premium Plan, every child in receipt of funding has an individual attainment and progress tracker. The tracker supports teachers to plan specific closing the gap targets and interventions for each half term, in order to help the child succeed in all areas of learning. These targets may include short and long-term academic and social targets for the individual. It also highlights enrichment and funding opportunities for the individual.

If you would like to find out more information please speak to Mrs Clare Spires, Executive Headteacher.