Pupil premium strategy statement
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2021 to 2022 academic year) funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.
It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school.
School overview
School name: Gomersal St. Mary’s CE Primary School
Number of pupils in school: 186
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils: 25%
(47/186)
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended): 2021-2023
Date this statement was published: 15th December 2022
Date on which it will be reviewed: 1st December 2023
Statement authorised by: Jane Barker, Headteacher
Pupil premium lead: Anna Joyce, Deputy Headteacher
Governor / Trustee lead: Julie Hallas, Governor for Disadvantaged Pupils
Funding overview
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year: £65,095
Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year: £6,815
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable): £0
Total budget for this academic year: £71,910
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan Statement of intent
As a church of England School, our school vision underpins everything we do, and guides us all the decisions we make, especially those regarding our most disadvantaged pupils.
This vision is: By being the best we can be, we all shine brightly, making our world and school a better place.
It is inspired by the Bible quote: ‘Let Your Light Shine’ Matthew 5:16.
It makes clear our intention that every member of our school community be encouraged and supported to flourish and achieve, to galvanise them to go forward and impact the world positively.
Consequently, irrespective of social and financial disadvantage, it is our vision that all pupils will make good progress, achieve well and realise their potential. All members of staff and governors are committed to helping disadvantaged pupils by meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs within the school environment.
Quality First Teaching is central to our approach. This means high quality inclusive teaching is provided, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support. This is coupled with our continuous whole school processes for assessing, planning, implementing, tracking, monitoring and reviewing children’s progress, to ensure that teaching is reactive and promotes good progress for all.
Pupil Premium helps remove barriers to learning so that all our pupils reach their full potential and enables them to fully engage in our curriculum and school life, and prepares them to flourish and participate positively as they progress onwards. The governors reserve the right to allocate the pupil premium funding to support any pupils or groups of pupils the school has legitimately identified as being socially disadvantaged.
This strategy will also detail our plans for the continued use of Recovery Premium, to support those pupils who have been most affected by the pandemic, whether in receipt of Pupil Premium funding or not. This will include targeted support for pupils and other measures taken by the school to mitigate negative impacts, and support recovery- academic, pastoral and emotional.
Our approach will be based upon robust diagnostic assessment and strategies will be founded around our knowledge of pupils as individuals, as well as research evidence. Where possible, our actions will be analysed to ensure effectiveness and impact.
Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
|
Challenge number |
Detail of challenge |
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1 |
Assessments and observations indicate that many disadvantaged pupils possess underdeveloped oral language skills and poor/limited vocabulary. This pattern extends throughout school with many disadvantaged pupils in UKS2 showing poorer language skills than their non-disadvantaged peers. Evidence shows poor speech development can have long-term effects on learning. |
|
2 |
Assessments, observations and discussions with pupils and parents indicate that low parental confidence, engagement and understanding of child development affects the amount of academic support they are able to offer pupils, particularly in reading. Assessments suggest that disadvantaged pupils generally have greater difficulties with phonics than their peers, which negatively impacts their development as readers. Assessments suggest that disadvantaged pupils generally have poorer fluency, understanding of vocabulary and have poorer attitudes to reading than which impacts on reading comprehension. |
|
3 |
Large proportion of disadvantaged pupils are also on our SEND register or our SEND monitoring register which means they are identified as requiring additional in-class support to access learning, or achieve their potential in specific areas. The pupils on this register often have issues in particular subjects which require timely, targeted, bespoke interventions to address specific issues which may prevent them from making the progress they may otherwise be capable of i.e. issues with spelling impacting overall writing attainment. |
|
4 |
Our assessments and discussions with pupils and parents indicate that the education of a significant proportion of pupils has been impacted by a lack of engagement with remote learning during partial school closures, and periods of Covid isolation. Disadvantaged pupils seem to have been impacted to a greater extent than for other pupils which reflects evidence from national studies. This has resulted in significant gaps in learning and has increased the attainment gap between non-disadvantaged and disadvantaged pupils. |
|
5 |
Assessments and discussions with staff and pupils suggest that maths attainment among disadvantaged pupils is below that of non-disadvantaged pupils. Discussions with pupils and parents indicate that low parental confidence affects the amount of academic support they are able to offer pupils in maths. Many pupils struggle to learn and retain number facts, which has an impact on mathematical development. |
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6 |
Discussions with staff, pupils and parents have identified social and emotional issues for many pupils, often exacerbated by the pandemic. These challenges particularly affect disadvantaged pupils in terms of attainment, attendance and emotional well-being. Discussions with staff and pupils indicate that behaviour for learning is poorer (e.g. lack of independence or resilience, forgotten good behaviours) as a result of partial school closures. Teacher referrals for support to both the SENDco and Learning Mentor have increased significantly during the pandemic. A significant number of pupils are currently awaiting access to support from outside agencies. |
Intended outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
|
Intended outcome |
Success criteria |
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Improved oral language skills and vocabulary among disadvantaged pupils. |
Assessments and observations indicate significantly improved oral language among disadvantaged pupils. Additional Evidence: Participation in lessons; book-looks; formative assessments |
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Improved phonics and reading attainment among disadvantaged pupils. |
EYFS and KS1 phonics data shows that a greater proportion of disadvantaged pupils are achieving in-line with non-disadvantaged pupils. KS2 reading outcomes in 2024/2025 show that more than 75% of disadvantaged pupils achieve expected standard. Most pupils have developed strong reading habits and as a consequence are confident and fluent readers able to access age-related texts. Additional Evidence: Participation in lessons; Book-looks; pupil, parental and staff voice surveys; formative assessments |
|
The number of disadvantaged pupils on the SEND monitoring register will decrease as a result of early and incisive intervention. |
The number of disadvantaged on the SEND monitoring register in 2024/2025 is significantly fewer than the number of pupils in 2021-2022. |
|
Pupils whose progress and attainment was impacted by partial school closures and periods of covid isolation, have caught up and closed gaps in learning as a result of quality-first teaching, and early and incisive intervention. |
The vast majority of pupils achieve their FFT 20 prediction in Reading, Writing and Maths at the end of KS2 by the year 2024/2025. |
|
Improved maths attainment among disadvantaged pupils. |
KS2 maths outcomes in 2024/2025 show that more than 75% of disadvantaged pupils achieve expected standard. Almost all pupils achieved their silver times table award (knowing all times table facts up to 12×12 in and out of order) by the end of year 4. Additional Evidence: Participation in lessons; Book-looks; pupil, parental and staff voice surveys; formative assessments, class times table lists/ times table check |
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School provides excellent pastoral support to enable pupils to access education and thrive, regardless of home situation. Pupils and families with identified social, emotional or health needs are well supported by school staff so that the needs are removed or alleviated. |
Attendance is consistently good. Poor attendance/ persistent absence is identified and resolved. Observations and discussions show that behaviour for learning is good and disadvantaged pupils have a positive attitude to school and learning. Discussions show that pastoral team/SENCo and Head teacher identify and support families and children and work to alleviate barriers to learning. Pupil and parent questionnaires show that parents and children of disadvantaged families feel supported and additional barriers alleviated where possible. |
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium (and recovery premium funding) this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budgeted cost: £30,000
|
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
|
Purchase of standardised diagnostic assessment resources (Pira, Puma, IDL maths and English) and analysis tools (FFT Aspire). |
Standardised tests can provide reliable insights into specific strengths and weaknesses of each pupil to help ensure they receive the correct additional support through interventions or teacher instruction. Evidence consistently shows the positive impact that targeted academic support can have, including on those who are not making good progress, or those who have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of the pandemic. EEF-Guide-to-the-Pupil-Premium-Autumn-2021.pdf |
2, 3, 4, 5 |
|
Improve teachers’ use of dialogue-rich teaching techniques through effective CPD i.e. Walking The Talk – I Can Communicate/Speech Stars |
Evidence shows that language and reading skills are best developed when teachers promote high quality dialogue in the classroom to support pupils to develop their thinking and use of language, and when teachers extend pupils’ vocabulary by explicitly teaching new words, providing repeated exposure to new words, and providing opportunities for pupils to use new words. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks2 Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and that every teacher is supported to keep improving, is the key ingredient of a successful school and should rightly be a top priority for pupil premium spending. EEF-Guide-to-the-Pupil-Premium-Autumn-2021.pdf |
1, 2 |
|
Improve the quality and impact of feedback about learners’ performance in writing through effective CPD |
Providing feedback is a well-evidenced and has a high impact on learning outcomes. Effective feedback tends to focus on the task, subject and self-regulation strategies: it provides specific information on how to improve. Studies of verbal feedback show slightly higher impacts overall (+7 months). Written marking may play one part of an effective feedback strategy – but it is crucial to monitor impacts on staff workload. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/feedback |
1, 3 |
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Provide CPD and staff meeting time to review curriculum intent in key subjects where PP pupils are shown to be performing poorer than non PP pupils i.e. Writing, Reading, Geography and History. Ensure that sequence of learning and curriculum content is clear. |
The impact of mastery learning approaches is an additional five months progress, on average, over the course of a year. Mastery learning approaches aim to ensure that all pupils have mastered key concepts before moving on to the next topic – in contrast with traditional teaching methods in which pupils may be left behind, with gaps of misunderstanding widening. Mastery learning approaches could address these challenges by giving additional time and support to pupils who may have missed learning, or take longer to master new knowledge and skills. |
2, 3 |
|
Provide CPD and staff meeting time to review curriculum intent in key subjects (i.e. Writing, Reading, Geography and History) to allow SENDCO to identify essential knowledge so this can become a focus for pre-and post teaching/ over-teaching of concepts to support more SEND/ SEND monitoring pupils to achieve EXS. |
The impact of mastery learning approaches is an additional five months progress, on average, over the course of a year. Mastery learning approaches aim to ensure that all pupils have mastered key concepts before moving on to the next topic – in contrast with traditional teaching methods in which pupils may be left behind, with gaps of misunderstanding widening. Mastery learning approaches could address these challenges by giving additional time and support to pupils who may have missed learning, or take longer to master new knowledge and skills. |
2, 3 |
|
Ensure that phonics practitioners have access to regular training so that delivery of lessons is effective. Provide extra TA support to allow pupils to be appropriately grouped. |
Phonics has a positive impact overall (+5 months) with very extensive evidence and is an important component in the development of early reading skills, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The teaching of phonics should be explicit and systematic to support children in making connections between the sound patterns they hear in words and the way that these words are written. The teaching of phonics should be matched to children’s current level of skill in terms of their phonemic awareness and their knowledge of letter sounds and patterns (graphemes). https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education- evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/phonics |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
|
Improve the quality of social and emotional (SEL) learning through the teaching of PSHE and whole-school and targeted approaches. SEL approaches will be embedded into routine educational practices and supported by professional development and training for staff. |
There is extensive evidence associating childhood social and emotional skills with improved outcomes at school and in later life (e.g., improved academic performance, attitudes, behaviour and relationships with peers):
|
6 |
|
Purchase online resources that support children in developing fluency in recalling number facts, and that can be accessed both within school and at home e.g. TT Rockstars, Sumdog, Purple Mash. |
Children progress best in Mathematics when teaching emphasises the many connections between mathematical facts, procedures, and concepts, and teachers ensure that pupils develop fluent recall of facts. Teaching practices should develop pupils’ independence and motivation. It should encourage pupils to take responsibility for, and play an active role in, their own learning. School leaders should ensure that all staff, including non-teaching staff, encourage enjoyment in maths for all children. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/maths-ks-2-3 |
3, 4, 5 |
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Funding to sustain support staffing to allow reactive teaching practices i.e. post-teaching/ pre-teaching/ in-class targeted support/ same-day intervention |
Tuition targeted at specific needs and knowledge gaps can be an effective method to support low attaining pupils or those falling behind, both one-to-one: One to one tuition | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) And in small groups: Small group tuition | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
|
Funding to cover supply costs to allow RWI lead (Steffi Byram) to conduct regular 1:1 assessment, access updates and provide bespoke CPD for practitioners. |
Phonics has a positive impact overall (+5 months) with very extensive evidence and is an important component in the development of early reading skills, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The teaching of phonics should be explicit and systematic to support children in making connections between the sound patterns they hear in words and the way that these words are written. The teaching of phonics should be matched to children’s current level of skill in terms of their phonemic awareness and their knowledge of letter sounds and patterns (graphemes). https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education- evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/phonics
|
1, 2, 3, 4 |
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Fund one year of whole-class ensemble music tuition for all year 3 pupils so that they can learn to play an instrument with the option to continue if they wish. |
Arts participation approaches can have a positive impact on academic outcomes in other areas of the curriculum.
Wider benefits such as more positive attitudes to learning and increased well-being have also consistently been reported.
There is intrinsic value in teaching pupils creative and performance skills and ensuring disadvantaged pupils access a rich and stimulating arts education.
|
4, 6 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £8,000
|
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
|
Speech and language programmes/ interventions for identified pupils
Nuffield Early Language Intervention scheme for EYFS children
|
The average impact of Oral language interventions is approximately an additional six months’ progress over the course of a year. Some studies also often report improved classroom climate and fewer behavioural issues following work on oral language. The Nuffield Early Language Intervention scheme shows promise in helping four- and five-year-olds whose language, communication and literacy skills have been impacted by the disruption of the past year, to benefit from targeted support
|
1, 3 |
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Additional phonics sessions targeted at disadvantaged pupils who require further phonics support. |
Phonics approaches have a strong evidence base indicating a positive impact on pupils, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. Targeted phonics interventions have been shown to be more effective when delivered as regular sessions over a period up to 12 weeks: Phonics | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF |
1,2 |
|
Engaging with the National Tutoring Programme to tutoring for pupils whose education has been most impacted by the pandemic. A significant proportion of the pupils who receive tutoring will be disadvantaged. |
The school’s 40% contribution to supplement NTP funding will be used to hire a temporary teacher to support pupils whose education has been impacted by pandemic for Autumn 1 term (7 weeks @ £175 per day).
Tuition targeted at specific needs and knowledge gaps can be an effective method to support low attaining pupils or those falling behind, both one-to-one: One to one tuition | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) And in small groups: Small group tuition | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF |
2,3,4,5 |
|
Provide small-group (staff-led) intensive Maths and English tuition for SEND pupils who are also PP. |
Small group tuition has an average impact of four months’ additional progress over the course of a year. Small group tuition is most likely to be effective if it is targeted at pupils’ specific needs. Diagnostic assessment can be used to assess the best way to target support. Additional small group support can be effectively targeted at pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and should be considered as part of a school’s pupil premium strategy.
Small group tuition | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF |
2,3,4,5 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £33,910
|
Activity |
Evidence that supports this approach |
Challenge number(s) addressed |
|
Staff training- Northorpe Hall |
Both targeted interventions and universal approaches can have positive overall effects: Behaviour interventions | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) |
6 |
|
Allocate learning mentor time and an agreed budget to create, build and maintain systems that support identified families to reduce persistent absenteeism. Have a designated attendance champion in the senior leadership team with clearly assigned responsibilities which are identified within the attendance policy, escalation of procedures and school improvement plan. |
The DfE guidance has been informed by engagement with schools that have significantly reduced levels of absence and persistent absence.
|
6 |
|
Fund release time for staff to run/ co-ordinate enrichment/ nurture groups for identified pupils i.e. gardening club, eco-team, faith team, Knit and natter, visits to Oxford Grange etc. |
Enriching education has intrinsic benefits. Children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, deserve a well-rounded, culturally rich, education. https://educationendowmentfoundation. org.uk/guidance-for-teachers/life-skills-enrichment |
6 |
|
Fund release time for SENDco and behaviour/ learning mentor to support families with high need SEND and Pupil Premium children. |
There is extensive evidence associating childhood social and emotional skills with improved outcomes at school and in later life (e.g., improved academic performance, attitudes, behaviour and relationships with peers):
https://sandbox.educationendowmen tfoundation.org.uk/educationevidence/ teaching-learningtoolkit/social-and-emotional-learning |
All |
|
Fund release time to allow learning mentor to write and submit applications for additional funding to support low-income families to pay for educational visits i.e Let June Make a Difference |
Enriching education has intrinsic benefits. Children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, deserve a well-rounded, culturally rich, education.
https://educationendowmentfoundation. org.uk/guidance-for-teachers/life-skills-enrichment |
6 |
|
Subsidised breakfast club/ tea-time club to ensure a good start to the school day/ to support low-income families |
The evidence shows that providing a healthy school breakfast at the start of the school day can contribute to improved readiness to learn, increased concentration, and improved wellbeing and behaviour.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/breakfast-clubs-programme-2021-2023 |
6 |
|
Fund TEAM teach CPD for key members of staff to support pupils with challenging behaviour, particularly those at risk of exclusion. |
According to figures from the Department for Education, pupils who receive Free School Meals are more likely to receive a permanent or fixed period exclusion compared to those who do not. The most common reason for exclusion is persistent disruptive behaviour. Pupil behaviour will have multiple influences, some of which teachers can directly manage though universal or classroom management approaches. Some pupils will require more specialist support to help manage their self-regulation or social and emotional skills. Across all approaches it is crucial to maintain high expectations for pupils and to embed a consistent approach across the school. Successful approaches may also include social and emotional learning interventions and parental engagement approaches.
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3, 4, 6 |
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Fund First Aid training for all pupils in year 6 to support them in making safe choices and provide them with a valuable life skill.
|
From September 2020, first aid training is a mandatory part of the English PSHE curriculum. Learning first aid is an invaluable life-skill. It helps children become more risk aware and equips them with skills to keep themselves safe and help themselves or others if involved in a medical emergency. It could save their life. https://firstaidforlife.org.uk/first-aid-courses/first-aid-for-children-school/ |
6 |
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Contingency fund for acute issues.
|
Based on our experiences and those of similar |
All |
Total budgeted cost: £71,910
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year Pupil premium strategy outcomes
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2021 to 2022 academic year.
Please bear in mind that the government have advised that performance data for 2022 should not be directly compared with 2019 and earlier. Nor should comparisons be made between schools. This is because schools may have been affected differently by COVID-19.
In the academic year 2021-2022, one-third of pupils in the Y1 class were considered disadvantaged. 100% of these pupils passed phonics screening compared with the national figure for disadvantaged pupils of 63%. This shows that systems we currently have in place for disadvantaged pupils in phonics (small groups, regular formative assessment, regular staff CPD, pre-and post- teaching support and 1:1 intervention) has been effective in helping all children to reach age-related expectations (ARE).
In year 2, 19% (5 pupils) were considered disadvantaged. In reading and writing, 20% of these pupils achieved ARE compared with 41% nationally. However, 3 of these pupils are on the SEND register and 2 have significant SEND needs requiring an EHCP. In maths 40% of disadvantaged pupils achieved ARE, compared with 52% nationally. The 3 pupils who did not achieve EXS in reading or writing, did receive additional TA-led intervention and an additional term and a half of phonics teaching.
In year 6, 31% of pupils were considered disadvantaged. In all of the following areas, the % of our disadvantaged pupils was higher, and in most cases, significantly higher, than national figures: Reading ARE; Reading Greater depth standard (GDS); Maths ARE; Maths GDS; Grammar, punctuation and spelling ARE; Grammar punctuation and spelling GDS; Writing ARE; Writing GDS.
To continue to support home learning, school has continued to subscribe to a range of online learning resources (i.e. IDL, Serial Mash, TT Rockstars) to ensure that pupils had access to high-quality learning materials whether at home or at school. This was initially designed to support Pupil Premium pupils, where low parental confidence, engagement and understanding of child development affects the amount of academic support pupils receive at home. Records show that these platforms are well-used and enabled staff to assign relevant work matched to pupils’ abilities and areas of need. As a result of their impact, school aims to continue to use these resources to enhance learning both in school and outside school.
An area that has always been a barrier to learning for many pupils, including but not limited to our Pupil Premium pupils, is poor language development, and evidence shows poor speech development can have long-term effects on learning. Lockdown measures exacerbated this issue further. This year, EYFS have begun to use resources from the Literary Curriculum in order to build learning around books, which is also focused on developing language progression. In addition, the English lead will work alongside the EYFS lead to investigate how to implement recommendations from Walk the Talk toolkit, and other research findings, across school.
Our assessments and observations indicated that pupil behaviour, wellbeing and mental health were significantly impacted by COVID-19-related issues. The impact was particularly acute for disadvantaged pupils. We have also seen a sharp increase in the number of issues related to both parenting issues and domestic violence. Therefore, we use pupil premium funding to provide wellbeing support for all pupils, and targeted interventions where required. We are building on that approach with the activities detailed in this plan. We also allocated 3 days equivalent (21 hours per week) of learning mentor support to Pupil Premium children- through 1:1 behaviour/ classroom support, talk therapy or through providing parents with support. This supports children who have barriers to learning specifically linked to pastoral/home issues.
We also provided subsidised access to breakfast and tea-time club for Pupil Premium children to support children to benefit from a ‘good start to the day’ and to help families to access reasonable child-care, which was particularly important as the cost-of-living crisis means that some of our lower-income families are having to work longer and longer hours to make ends meet but cannot afford expensive child-care.
In addition to the provision above, school now has a robust, well-constructed PSHE curriculum in place designed to build resilience and emotional well-being. We continue to subscribe to Jigsaw PSHE to ensure that the curriculum we deliver is as effective as possible.
Absence figures show that attendance is a concern overall, and particularly for our disadvantaged pupils. Overall absence in summer 2021 for pupils in receipt of free school meals (8.3%) was in the highest 20% of all schools. Persistent absence in summer 2021 for pupils in receipt of free school meals (30.8%) was in the highest 20% of all schools. Despite the measures that school have put in place to counteract this, some pupils have very poor attendance and this impacts attendance overall. This year to attempt to improve attendance, we will hold monthly pupil attendance meetings in school where any child whose attendance has fallen below 90% will be discussed. Following the meeting, letters will be sent to the parents of children whose attendance is considered to be an issue, detailing this and warning them of the impacts of poor attendance on their child’s education. Staff will also use the LA attendance advisor to support school where required.
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help the Department for Education identify which ones are popular in England
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Programme |
Provider |
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NA |
NA |
