Pupil Premium Intent: 2022-2023

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The Government believes that the Pupil Premium Grant (PPG), which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to “raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.” (Department of Education, February 2014).

 

At Essa Academy we strive to ensure that we deliver our mission of “All Will Succeed” with particular focus on those students identified as disadvantaged.

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We aim to deliver Quality First Teaching for all our students and we then support this with additional intervention to ensure we close the gap in the attainment of our pupil premium students.

 

• In 2022-23 the Pupil Premium Funding for Essa Academy amounts to £404,835

• 38.6% of our students are currently Pupil Premium

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We have highlighted four key areas in which to focus this funding which we believe will have the biggest impact for these students.

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• Attendance 

• Behaviour and Wellbeing 

• Attainment

• Welfare 

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Here is a short summary around how we intend to utilise this funding for 2021/22:

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Attendance:

• Employment of an attendance officer and a wellbeing (pastoral) team who will drive to increase the attendance of our disadvantaged students and provide support, on a daily basis, to remove barriers to their learning and improve attitudes to learning.

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Behaviour and Wellbeing:

• Employment of wellbeing (pastoral) staff to ensure students' needs are met and students are in lessons and behaving well.

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Attainment:

• Provision of Saturday School for small groups of Year 11 students to close attainment gaps.

• Tutor Trust tutoring for a select group of Year 11 students on a Saturday to close attainment gaps in Maths / English.

• Focus on Blended Learning for all students to close attainment gaps through a structured 'homework' programme using ClassCharts and GCSEPod.

• Provision of reading books, reading age specific, for every child. This will be organised by our full-time librarian who supports the drive for improvement in literacy levels.

• EAL specialist team who ensure appropriate provision is in place for our EAL students.​

• Provision of IT support and software, for our most disadvantaged students.

• Provision of subsidised peripatetic music lessons that encourage our students to participate in the choir, productions and music in general.

• Establishment of a cohesive mentoring scheme led by senior members to ensure our disadvantaged students are given personalised support.

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Welfare:

• Continuation of Forest Schools that offers an alternative curriculum provision for our most vulnerable students.

• School Mental Health Counsellor who will put strategies in place to support those students with complex needs​

• Provision of a careers advisory service that raises the aspirations of all our students with a focus on our pupil premium students.

• Provision of MU Foundation tutoring with full-time member of staff from MU Foundation to work with key students.

• Provision of Essa Experience, that allows all students to access 60 ‘experiences’ over 5 years that broaden their minds and enrich their lives beyond academia.

• Subsidies for school trips, travel needs, uniform, sports equipment and cookery classes to ensure our disadvantaged students are exposed to the same experiences as other students.

• Free access by all our year 9 and year 10 students to the Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, Young or Sports leaders award Scheme with certification.