GREEN GATES ACADEMY

PUPIL PREMIUM REPORT

2013-2014

This document explains how Green Gates Academy, as part of Horizons Specialist Academy Trust, use our Pupil Premium funding to make our Mission statement a reality for all of our pupils.

PRINCIPLES

All members of staff and the Board of Directors accept responsibility for ‘socially disadvantaged’ pupils and are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs within a caring environment. As with every child in our care, a child who is considered to be ‘socially disadvantaged’ is valued, respected and entitled to develop to his/her full potential, irrespective of need.

BACKGROUND

The pupil premium is a Government initiative that targets extra money at pupils from deprived backgrounds, which research shows underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers. The premium is provided in order to support these pupils in reaching their potential.

The Government has used pupils who are entitled to Free School meals currently, or those previously entitled within the last six years as an indicator for deprivation, and have deployed a fixed amount of money to schools per pupil, based on this number.

PROVSION

The following academic data was analysed to look for areas where eligible pupils are achieving less than their peers:

•Reading

•Writing

•Numeracy

As HSAT exists for pupils with Special Needs the data on engagement was also analysed. This includes:

•Boxall Profiles

•Records of exclusions

•Records of detentions/ sanctions

From this data the following range of provision was decided:

•Facilitating pupils’ access to education

•Facilitating pupils’ access to broader curriculum opportunities

•Additional teaching and learning opportunities

•Alternative support and intervention

Proposed Spending for 2013-2014

In the period of September 2013 to July 2014 our Pupil Premium money (£19,825) was spent at Westlands Primary (Green Gates) in the following ways:

Money Spent on / Objectives / Outcomes / Cost
Targeted support/allocation of specific support staff. / That every child will learn to read with a very rigorous and sequential approach delivered by highly skilled members of staff.
Designated Teaching Assistant is trained in delivering specific intervention programmes to support individual learners. /
  • Pupils offered additional support increase their rate of expected progress in reading, on average by 9.4 months.
  • T.A is an experienced classroom practitioner and has worked alongside colleagues to model effective use of specific reading programmes.
  • Support was offered to parents to encourage their understanding of particular reading methods and programmes.
  • T.A has accessed support from Specialist Learning Team and has delivered specific intervention programmes to support dyslexic learners.
  • T.A cascaded knowledge of appropriate techniques when working with dyslexic pupils.
  • Staff are better equipped to identify learning problems such as dyslexia sooner and will understand what approaches are needed.
/ £12,210
Facilitating pupils’ access to broader curriculum opportunities / To ensure pupils are inspired and motivated to learn. /
  • All pupils had access to a range of school visits to enrich their curriculum and the potential cost barrier was removed for pupils who attract pupil premium funds. This ensured there were increased opportunities for pupils to talk and write about what they have seen, which has led to an improvement in the content and length of writing, as evidenced by Bookscrutinies (target from previous Ofsted inspection). Pupils who attract Pupil Premium funds made on average 2.5 points of progress in writing.

/ £3,000
Alternative support and intervention / To implement ‘Draw Talk’ sessions.
Drawing and talking is a safe, easy to learn method of working with children to help with underlying emotional difficulties that may be affecting their learning and behaviour. /
  • Pupils have had individual time with to draw with a key person they feel comfortable with regularly at the same time each week, and this person has been able use this time to talk to them in a non-intrusive way initially about the child’s drawings. Over time, a symbolic resolution is found to old conflicts, old trauma is healed and the child becomes more able to control their behaviour and better able to access the curriculum.
  • The 5 students who accessed draw talk showed improvements in their Boxall profiles in particular with communicating their thoughts and responding to other people appropriately.
  • Attendance levels continued to be positive with 94.6% for whole school attendance between Sept 13-July 15
/ £1,500
Promote Reading for Pleasure / To encourage pupils to read at home. /
  • Pupils have been encouraged to regularly read at home alongside their parents/carers
  • Parents/carers have had increased opportunities to be involved with their child’s learning, as highlighted by the Leading Parent Partnership award.
  • Pupils have developed increased confidence in reading aloud and most now take a pride in their reading capabilities.
  • Pupils who attract pupil premium funds made on average 3.25 points of progress in reading. The same level of progress as their non FSM peers.
/ £300
Healthy Start Programme / For all pupils to access a healthy breakfast at the start of the school day. /
  • Pupils are prepared and equipped for learning.
  • Pupils have had increased opportunities to develop their social skills.
/ £2,000
Senior Leaders to deliver booster sessions for L3 and L4s in Y6 / To raise confidence and improve progress in reading and writing. /
  • Targets for 2013-2014 were set as:
  • Increase the number of pupils achieving level 3 from 60% to 80%.
  • Increase the number of pupils achieving level 4 from 20% to 50%.
  • Results for 2013-2014 were:
  • % of pupils entered for SATs achieved level 3 or above:Reading: 100%, SPAG: 100%, Maths: 100%
  • % of pupils entered achieved level 4 or above:Reading: 100% (9 out of 9), Writing: 55.5% (5 out of 9), Maths: 66.6% (6 out of 9)
  • % of pupils entered achieved level 5 or above:Reading: 22.2%, SPAG: 22.2%, Maths: 22.2%
/ £315
Celebration of Achievement / Recognise and reward outstanding effort and attitude of pupils – focusing on resilience and determination.
Celebrate the achievements of the year 6 cohort as they complete their Primary education. /
  • Pupils aspired to achieve and receive various awards.
  • Year 6 pupils achieved the Academy’s highest ever SATs results.
  • Parent’s attendance at the Graduation Ceremony provided them with the opportunity to acknowledge their child’s educational achievements.
  • The launch of the new homework scheme was a huge success. Prizes for completing exceptional amounts of homework were awarded to 12 students in the first term this initiative was launched.
/ £500