Using Pupil Premium Funding Successfully

USING PUPIL PREMIUM FUNDING SUCCESSFULLY

TO RAISE ACHIEVEMENT 2017-2018

Introduction

Pupil Premium funding is used to provide additional support for students to remove barriers to learning. The additional funding is targeted at students from low income families eligible for free school meals at any time in the last 6 years, children in care, adopted children and children of services personnel. The Taunton Academy is responsible for how the funding is spent and for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the funding.

The Taunton Academy aims to ensure that all young people reach beyond their potential. We believe that every student has something special to offer and it is important to us that students’ talents are nurtured and encouraged. We aspire to raise self-confidence, self-belief and self-esteem in all students while relating positively to others. We believe that our school community should do everything we can to remove barriers to learning and we use the Pupil Premium funding to support these aims. The Governors and Richard Huish Trust hold leaders to account for the spend and impact of the funding; Taunton Academy staff, led by the Senior Team and Heads of Faculty, are unrelenting in their pursuit of excellence for all students.

Objectives

to ensure that progress measures for students eligible for PP funding are in line with or better than thatof the cohort;
to accelerate the progress of students eligible for PP funding so that the attainment difference betweendisadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students is narrowed;
to improve the literacy and numeracy of students eligible for PP funding in KS3;
to monitor the progress of reading ability of disadvantaged pupils;
to support the higher aspirations of particularly able studentseligible for PP funding (HPA where appropriate)
to ensure that students eligible for PP funding remain in education or training post 16 and that thosewho are able to take more demanding level 3 courses are supported to pursue these;
to ensure that students eligible for PP funding receive planned IAG and are aware of Post 16opportunities;
to ensure that students eligible for PP funding participate fully in the rewards system and take fulladvantage of the opportunities for student leadership across the school;
to ensure that staff have a high level of awareness of the needs of disadvantaged

students in their classrooms;

to target disadvantaged students who require catch-up through the school interventionprogramme;
to increase the number of students eligible for PP funding participating in extra-curricular activities

Context

There are 660students on roll (September 2017). Of these, 38.9% are eligible for pupil premium funding. In 2016-2017The Taunton Academy received £197,285 of pupil premium funding. In 2017-2018 the funding is expected to be196,818. The DofE has given us the freedom to use the Pupil Premium, as we see fit, based upon our understanding of our students’ needs, as stated: “It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM student, is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual students within their responsibility.” We are accountable for the use of this additional funding and for monitoring its impact on student progress, attendance and behaviour.

The main barriers to educational achievement faced by students eligible for Pupil Premium funding at The Taunton Academy are:

Attendance of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding - This is currently not in line with that of their peers.
Behaviour of students eligible for pupil premium funding – When compared with their peers, a higher percentage of behaviour points are given to students eligible for Pupil Premium funding.
Progress and achievement of the students who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding – The progress and achievement of the students eligible for Pupil Premium funding, is not currently in line with that of their peers, see below.

2017unvalidated outcomes / P8 / A8
PP / -0.7 / 35.69
All cohort / -0.4 / 41.2

NB: It is also noteworthy that there has been significant in-year mobility and particularly so for students eligible for PP funding. These has been an additional barrier for some students eligible for PP funding who need extra support in settling in to a new educational establishment.

In planning how to spend the funding, Governors have used a set of principles:

The funding is solely for spending on students eligible for pupil premium.
It is focused on supporting eligible students to reach the highest levels of achievement.
The impact of spending is rigorously evaluated to ensure value for money.
Improvement in the quality of education for pupil premium students is an integral part of whole school improvement planning.
Development of staff skills to ensure the highest quality teaching and support every-day is given high priority, including the provision of high quality staff training.
That the role of parents in supporting progress, behaviour and attendance of students, in partnership with staff, is seen as crucial to student success.

Pupil Premium Targets 2016-2017

Improved outcomes for all

New Progress indicators make comparisons with 2016 difficult. However, we expected a 20% point increase in 5ACEM (4+) outcomes compared to last year. Under the new basics measures we expected 30% would achieve grade 5+ and 54% would attain grade 4+, significantly closer to predicted national averages than the results last year. We achieved exactly this from a cohort who were significantly below national averages on intake. A8 scores show an increase from 2016 outcomes for all groups (when adjusted to reflect changes to the points tables). Across all years, 70% of students are performingat their expected levels by the end of the academic year. The level of accuracy of predictions shows that leaders have been able to identify and target appropriate students for intervention and that this has led to successful outcomes for students.

Measures for disadvantaged pupils and all identified sub-groups are no more that 10% below peers from an equivalent starting point.

Results from 2017 external exams show that the P8 gap is 0.3 and that the 5ACEM at 4+ is 10%. To have made such an improvement in attainment and kept the gap at 10% is a significant step forward.

There are a significant number of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding attending the Taunton Academy (see below – accurate at Sept 2017).

Year group / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11
% Students eligible for Pupil Premium funding / 45% (70) / 36%(52) / 34%(36) / 42%(56) / 38%(42)

Overall, 39% of the school cohort are eligible for Pupil Premium funding.

Progress

The previous value added measure is no longer used and Progress 8 is not a measure which can be compared across year groups. However, a comparison of attainment for those students eligible for Pupil Premium attaining 5AC (4+) in English and Maths shows good progress. Across all sub groups, this measure increased from 23% in 2016 to 45% in 2017.

2016 % / 2017 %
Low Prior Attainment / 0 / 0
Mid Prior Attainment / 33 / 41
High Prior Attainment / 67 / 87

To further close any difference in attainment, the academy has employed staff with specific responsibility to focus on the attendance, attainment, progress and aspirations of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding in all year groups. This will provide a cohesive and consistent approach to raising standards. There will be a particular focus on the mid prior attaining students as a significant group of students.

Strategy

Ensuring the progress and attainment of all students will be achieved through:

High Quality Teaching everyday

Teachers and classroom staff know their students
Planning matches learning to level and is sensitive to needs/student circumstance
Opportunities for challenge and stretch are provided
Feedback is personalised and provides information on how to progress
The needs of PP students are prioritised e.g. books marked first
Differentiated Homework, within a system of high expectation and completion
Performance Management targets include those specific to the progress of PP students

An ethos of success and achievement for all

Curriculum structured to enable students to achieve
Rewards and sanction systems consistently and fairly applied
Every opportunity is taken to celebrate success (newsletter, website, learning displayed on walls around school etc)
Raising Attainment programme in place to include Raising Attainment mentors, Careers programme, university trips, IAG colleges etc

Targeted individual intervention

Robust data scrutiny by SLT/HoFs and at class teacher level
Underachievement of students picked up and addressed (wave 1, 2 and 3)

All PP students in Y11 have a mentor
All PP students encouraged to attend Evening school
Small group intervention for PP students including 1 to 1 in English and Maths
Clear literacy ‘catch-up’ programme in place
All Y7s CAT tested on admission
PP parent evening booking prioritised - all PP parents phoned first before booking system opened to all
PP Champion provides intervention, liaises with home, monitors progress

High awareness of the needs of PP students (pastorally)

Tutors are first point of contact for students/parents
Tutors monitor welfare, attendance and behaviour (wave 1)
Attendance Officer monitors attendance data (wave 2)
Home School Liaison Officer involvement (leading to EWO where necessary – wave 3)
Merits/sanctions data monitored and Year Leaders intervene to support (wave 2)
Students are financially supported where appropriate for uniform, trip subsidy etc
Tutors signpost information such as Food Bank, Breakfast club
Extra support such as Breakfast club

Monitoring and reviewing the strategy

Our work in relation to Pupil Premium is reviewed on a half termly basis to ensure it is having the intended impact on narrowing the gaps. This allows us to respond rapidly and to make adjustments if particular strategies are not working as well as expected. The review and monitoring is carried out through; parental and student forums/surveys, work sampling, data captures and lesson observations. Our Pupil Premium strategy is reviewed termly by governors and on an annual basis and adjustments are made to it according to the impact on narrowing the gaps. We recognise the importance of evaluation and the need for this to be robust to ensure the approaches we are using are effective and represent excellent value for money. Our annual review involves staff, students, governors, parents and carers.

Current provision for students eligible for Pupil Premium funding (2016-2017)

Regular and frequent assessment and tracking of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding using a data analysis programme.
An Attendance Officer and Home School Liaison Officer to track and intervene to promote high attendance and reduce absence.
Implementation of PiXL strategies and processes to close progress gaps (PiXLis a National organisation that work with schools to provide up to date advice and guidance on progress and attainment of students).
An Inclusion Mentor to track behaviour patterns and intervene to promote excellent behaviour.
Rapid regular communication with parents about attendance, progress and behaviour.
Specialist professional support to ensure high quality pastoral care such as priority access to counsellors.
A Deputy Headteacher with specific responsibility for progress of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding. He leads the provision for students eligible for Pupil Premium funding in all year groups.
A Deputy Headteacher with specific responsibility for student welfare, behaviour and attendance, with particular respect to students eligible for Pupil Premium funding.
Priority mentoring and careers advice for students eligible for Pupil Premium funding.
A Pupil Premium champion (Mentor) to track, develop and evaluate the provision for students eligible for Pupil Premium funding in all year groups.
The Accelerated Reader scheme and resources to raise standards of literacy and promote a love of reading.
One to one teaching and small group teaching for literacy and numeracy.
The development of a Dyslexia Lead to develop the quality of provision for students with dyslexia.
Curriculum and revision resource subsidies including access to additional IT resources.
Curriculum development to promote engagement in learning through a wide range of relevant exciting resources.
Subsidies for selected school trips, events and clubs to raise aspiration and broaden horizons.

The evaluation of spend follows below:

Expenditure of Pupil Premium funding 2016 - 2017 evaluation and summary

GCSE Outcomes / Disadvantaged pupils / Whole Cohort
Number of pupils / 33 30% / 110
KS2 Average Points Score / 4.47 / 4.65
% achieving Grades 9 - 5 in English and Maths / 22% / 32%
% achieving Grades 9 - 4 in English and Maths / 45% / 55%
Average grade per pupil / 8.48 / 8.85
Average Attainment 8 Score / 35.69 / 41.2
Progress 8 score / -0.7 / -0.4
Attendance / 92.29 / 94.52
Area of funding / Total money committed to this area / Evaluation
Regular and frequent assessment and tracking of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding using a data analysis programme. / £3,000
(£1,500 for software package and training plus £1,500 staff costs - Data Manager) / Academy predictions exactly matched the actual outcomes. This meant that leaders were able to correctly identify students in need of specific intervention.
Moderation from PiXL enabled Heads of Faculty to understand new grading system and ensure students were fully prepared for the exams.
Implementation of PiXL strategies and processes to close progress gaps. / £3,000 (PiXL membership plus on-going CPD for DHT Progress and HoF)
An Inclusion Mentor to track behaviour patterns and intervene to promote excellent behaviour. / £14,965.00
(To reflect proportion of time focused on students eligible for PP funding – 60%) / FTE fell steadily last year from:
Autumn term 1&2- 44 students = 184 days
Spring 3&4- 48 students = 137 days
Summer 5&6- 22 students = 70.5 days
Internal exclusions significantly fell over the course of the year and then plateaued during the summer term:
Autumn term 1&2- 218 students.
Spring term 3&4- 142 students.
Summer term 5&6- 145 students
Repeat offenders fell steadily over the course of the year from 45 in autumn term 1&2 to 29 and 31 in the following terms.
63 PP (29%) students were internally excluded in term 1&2 against 218 Non-PP across the school. This reduced to 44 (31%) out of 142- terms 3&4 and 34 (23%)out of 145 term 5&6.
Rapid regular communication with parents about attendance, progress and behaviour. / £1,500
(Part purchase of software packages – SIMs in touch and progress evening bookings, plus time allocation of Inclusion Mentor in sending daily communications) / Improved communication has supported improvements in behaviour. All tutors made contact within the first 2 weeks of them being in school. This encouraged dialogue between the tutor and parents. The planner tracked attendance and behaviour points and was used as a means of communication where required. The daily behaviour logs being sent using SIMS in touch supports daily messages being given by parents in supporting positive behaviour choices, as well as celebrating the achievement logs that were sent out each Friday. Attendance at Progress Evenings has increased by an average of iro 20%.There was an over spend in this area of iro £5K
Specialist professional support to ensure high quality pastoral care such as priority access to counsellors via referrals. / £50,180
(Staff costs and resources, such as uniform, equipment etc) / Over £5K was spent on resources to support students eligible for PP funding. Specialist staff also were able to access funding from other organisations to support children and their families.
Specialist staffing and provision to address behaviour of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding. / £10,000
(Staff costs and provision costs as appropriate e.g. Forest School) / 2 staff in Return to Learn (September to May half term) supported the PP students by providing 1 to 1 intervention out of the classroom. Here they were able to work on actions and consequences work, as well as working on supporting their SEMH needs and getting to understand the students better. They also provided 1 to 1 support in class where possible.
8PP students accessed alternative provision off site in order to support their learning in the academy. This has resulted in a reduction in exclusions from 44 students = 184 days of lost learning to 22 students = 70.5 days.
Specialist staffing to address attendance of students eligible for Pupil Premium funding to include Home school liaison Officer, Attendance Officer. / £30,000
(Staff costs) / Whole school attendance figures in 2015/16 were 92.85% and in 2016/17 they were 92.39%. The Home School Liaison Officer has built excellent relationships with a large number of families. This has not seen the impact we would have hoped but has certainly begun to change the culture so that families understand that good attendance is essential to success.
PP attendance figures for 2016/17 were 90.11%. This shows a 2.28% gap between PP and Non-PP.This still remains a challenge.
Priority mentoring and careers advice. / £2,000
(Staff costs) / We are yet to receive figures of student who have gone into Higher Education and who are not NEET.
All Y11 PP students were taken to the Careers fair at Junction 24 October 2016. All were given 1:1 careers advice from DWP staff.
A Pupil Premium Champion (mentor). / £13,281
(Working with exclusively students eligible for PP funding) / The PP champion worked specifically with 15 students in Y11 and has similar case loads across other year groups. Y11 students all turned up for exams and said they were more confident about their ability to achieve after her sessions. Her work with the Raising Aspiration Mentors has had positive impact as evidenced by UWE data.
The Accelerated Reader scheme and resources to raise standards of literacy and promote a love of reading. / £10,000
(To reflect % of software purchase and staffing costs to deliver programme, training and specialist teaching to students eligible for PP funding upon identification of need. / 30% of Y7 and Y8 students have increased their reading ages by more than a year in the first 6 months of AR.
One to one teaching and small group teaching for literacy and numeracy. / £15,000
(Staff costs, training, ILI, and resources) / This group of students who received literacy and numeracy intervention in Y11 all performed either as predicted or better. All students who achieved their EM qualifications also achieved 3 others in order to make the crucial number of GCSE passes to access FE. Staffing changes meant an inconsistency in provision and therefore impact is harder to track.
The development of a Dyslexia Lead. / £8,500
(Staff costs and training) / Due to staff turn around, this was not possible this year. The money was spent on TA support generally and whole staff training. SEND students who were also PP achieved an A8 of 18.92 from a cohort of 6 students.
Curriculum and revision resource subsidies including access to additional IT resources. / £30,000
(Staff costs, revision guides, educational attainment trips such as PiXL high five Maths, iPADs as appropriate) / 18 students went to PiXL high five events
IT equipment was loaned out to 15
Revision guides were given to all students at a cost of £600
Curriculum development, including Show my Homework and resources for those unable to access IT. / £10,000
(Resources, staff costs) / There was a significant increase in the number of students completing homework regularly and all students are now expected to do so with sanctions and rewards in place to support this. This will contribute to the 70%+ students who are making age related progress.
Printing for those who are unable to access SMH cost iro £1500.
Curriculum courses for PP students have been brought in as Alternative Provision on site, including a Return to Learn provision. This has cost £6K however, staffing challenges has resulted in this provision not being fully and consistently staffed.
Subsidies for selected school trips, events and clubs. / £5,000
(Costs including Breakfast club) / There was an overspend of £3K.
Total expenditure £206,426 / Total expenditure of £214,426

Expected Expenditure of Pupil Premium funding 2017-18 (summary)