What are the Pupil Premium and the COVID Recovery Grants?
The Pupil Premium grant was introduced in April 2011 by the coalition Government to address issues which adversely affect student achievement in school that have been shown to be linked to disadvantage and deprivation. The grant is based on the number of children registered for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months and children of service personnel. It is the responsibility of the Academy to decide how this money should be spent to support students, with the purpose of boosting pupil attainment of this group.
The Recovery Premium grant is part of the Government’s package of funding to support pupils whose education has been impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19).
It is a time-limited grant providing additional funding for state-funded schools in the 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 academic years.
It is focused on pupil premium eligible pupils. This is because of the additional impact of the pandemic on these students, however, schools can use it to deliver evidence-based approaches for supporting any pupil based on an assessment of individual need.
The Grant
Our Pupil Premium students currently make up 43% of our student population which is higher than the National Average of 27%. For the academic year 2022 - 2023 our Pupil Premium grant is £515,155 and our COVID Recovery funding is £144,348.
This compares to a Pupil Premium grant of £424,498 and a COVID Catch-up funding of £64,453 received in 2021 – 2022.
Principles regarding the use of Pupil Premium and COVID Recovery Funding
Irrespective of a student’s background our underlying belief is that students eligible for PP should be attaining in line with their peers. We are fully committed to educational equity and ‘excellence for all’.
At The Queen Katharine Academy we ensure that the funding is used to aid all our students to achieve their full potential during their time with us and to bridge the impact of the COVID pandemic.
We are striving to ensure that we close the gap in attainment between students eligible for the PP and those who are not.
Aims regarding the use of Pupil Premium and COVID Recovery Funding
- To ensure that all students have access to excellent teaching
- To ensure that our pastoral care is of the highest quality and works cohesively with other stakeholders
- To ensure that all students have access to opportunities beyond the curriculum
How is it managed?
Progress of all learners is reviewed by all staff, with a member of SLT who has oversight. Key members of SLT have oversight for Pupil Premium and COVID Recovery funding and are responsible for tracking, monitoring and analysing the impact of its use.
Students who are in receipt of Free School Meals, those in Local Authority Care, the children of service men/women and other students deemed ‘disadvantaged’ or ‘vulnerable’ are prioritised for additional support and intervention through the funding.
How is the money spent?
Teaching and Learning
We spend a significant proportion of our allowance on ensuring high quality teaching, including teacher training and coaching. The Accelerated Curriculum, the Year 7 Forward Pathway and the Learning Gateway provision are all partially funded from the allowance, and provide bespoke curricular support and provision for those students who arrive at the Academy needing additional support.
Additionally, micro-group tutoring sessions are delivered to targeted groups of students across the Core Subjects as well as Literacy and Digital Literacy.
Resources
All students on the Pupil Premium register are provided with financial support to purchase uniform and/or equipment to support them in lessons. Students studying examination courses are provided with revision resources as recommended by Subject Leaders.
Pastoral care
The Queen Katharine Academy has excellent pastoral care systems and these are funded in part by the additional allowances. All year groups have two full time Student Support Officers (SSOs), a Student Supervisor and a Progress Leader attached to them. These members of staff are integral to ensuring that no young people are disadvantaged in school due to financial constraints.
In addition to the Year Team support, the allowances also assist with external counselling and mentoring sessions, preventative behaviour interventions and in-year inductions due to high levels of mobility.