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Pupil Premium and Catch Up

Pupil Premium Governor: Nicholas Ford

 

The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is extra funding to raise achievement and improve outcomes for students. The level of funding is dependent on the numbers of students on roll in Essa Academy in years 7-11 who are eligible for free school meals, who are looked-after children or are from families with parents in the Armed Forces. The most recent formula for calculating Pupil Premium Grant is based on students who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the previous 6 years (the ‘ever 6’ calculation).

In the academic year 2020-21 the Pupil Premium will be:

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.

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 2020-21 the additional funding amounts to £403,000 (43% of our students) and will help the school provide for the:

Employment of an attendance officer and a 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.

  • Provision of small group academic support with a particular focus on reading, English, Maths and Science.

  • 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.

  • Continuation of Saturday School and holiday clubs that provide small group intervention to push attainment and progress across all faculties.

  • Establishment of extracurricular clubs that inspire in the Science, Maths, Arts and Humanities arena.

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

  • Provision of numerous learning platforms (revision packs, revision guides, ICT enrolment) to aid revision in and outside school.

  • Establishment of ESSA Live to ensure all students access home learning through the sharing of personalised lessons and full courses.

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

  • Provision of computer clubs at lunch time and after school to ensure access to the internet to aid learning.

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

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

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

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

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

  • Funding support for PE and Health to participate in new and emerging sports e.g. golf and wrestling.

  • 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.

  • Access to Free Meal Vouchers even during bubble closures, organised by a dedicated support team.

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