Pupil Premium
The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with students who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’).
Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months, children of service personnel and children who have been adopted from care.
The Pupil Premium Grant for Hanham Woods Academy of £955 for each eligible student amounts to £130,423 in 2021.
Research evidence suggests that:
- It is not simply a question of spending more to get better results
- There is a link between spending and outcomes, but that it is a complex picture.
- Much depends on the context, the school, the teachers (their levels of knowledge and experience), the learners (their level of attainment and their social background) and the educational outcomes that you want to improve (knowledge, skills or dispositions).
It seems that the following low-cost strategies have the most impact:
- effective feedback
- homework
- meta-cognitive and self-regulation strategies
- peer tutoring / peer-assisted learning strategies
Other high cost strategies with high impact include:
- early intervention
- one-to-one tutoring
- summer schools
- parental involvement
For more information see The Sutton Trust-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit
Our own experience also suggests that more personalised support for individuals can address a range of needs. This might include the provision of equipment: bikes, laptops, pencil cases, uniform, food for breakfast etc. or financial support for attendance on educational visits and enrichment activities, e.g. music lessons.
