Pupil Premium spending at William Torbitt

The Government introduced the Pupil Premium Grant in April 2011. This grant, which is additional to main school funding, is seen by the government as the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers, by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most. The Pupil Premium is allocated to schools and is clearly identifiable. Schools can decide how the Pupil Premium is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.

KEY PRINCIPLES FOR USING PUPIL PREMIUM AT WILLIAM TORBITT PRIMARY:

1. William Torbitt has a school-wide commitment to raise achievement for pupils who are eligible for Pupil Premium and knows these pupils must make faster progress than non-eligible pupils, and is determined to achieve this.

2. William Torbitt does not confuse eligible pupils with low ability, and strives to ‘bring out the best’ in this group of pupils and support them to achieve the highest levels.

3. William Torbitt creates an overall package of support aimed to tackle the range of barriers including; attendance, behaviour, external factors, professional development focusing on improving outcomes for eligible pupils, improving the quality of teaching and learning, language acquisition, parental engagement, opportunities for first hand experiences and development of literacy and numeracy skills.

4. William Torbitt uses assessment systems to track and enable thorough analysis of data (Reading, Writing and Mathematics) to identify pupils who are underachieving.

5. William Torbitt directs resources and interventions in an aim to accelerate progress of eligible pupils and close the attainment gap compared to their peers.

6. William Torbitt uses data to carefully track the impact of targeted spending (interventions, projects or pedagogy) on attainment and progress of eligible pupils.

7. The Pupil Premium Leader and the Headteacher have a clear overview of how funding is allocated and the difference it is making to the outcomes of pupils termly.

8. William Torbitt ensures class teachers, year group leaders and subject leaders know which pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium, so they can take responsibility for accelerating progress and accountability is shared across the school.