NORTH KESTEVEN ACADEMY REVIEW OF PUPIL PREMIUM SPENDING 2016/17

Headline Figures

  • The attainment of pupil premium students is below that of students nationally.
  • The gap between pupil premium and all students within the academy is -4.6% for 5+ in English and Mathematics (Basics).
  • The gap between pupil premium and all students within the academy is -6.2% for 5+ in English.
  • The gap between pupil premium and all students within the academy is -4.8% for 5+ in Mathematics.
  • Services students at NK Academy outperformed all students in ALL headline measures.

What is the Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is extra government funding allocated to schools, based on the number of learners who:

  • Have been eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) over the last 6 years (Ever 6)
  • Have been in local authority care at any point
  • Have a parent in the armed forces, or have been registered as a “service child” in the school census since 2011

The DfE provides schools with the freedom to use the Pupil Premium Grant as they see fit, based upon knowledge of students’ needs. Schools are held accountable for the use of this funding.

The purpose of Pupil Premium funding

Statistics show that, in England and Wales, the academic performance of students classed as “disadvantaged” has been significantly lower than those students who are not. Pupil Premium funding is intended to remove any barriers to learning, as well as enabling these students to be able to access all areas of the curriculum as well as their peers.

We have, therefore, used our Pupil Premium funding in a number of different ways, as outlined in this document. The grant has been used to either further develop existing initiatives or to fund new strategies to provide support, intervention and enrichment activities.

North Kesteven Academy is committed to ensuring spending is based on educational research and data analysis to ensure both impactful and targeted intervention.

2016/17 Spending and Impact

Summary information
Total number of pupils / 1235
Total number of pupils eligible for PP / 204
Total PP budget / £200,176

Attainment and Progress – Impact of Pupil Premium

2015 / 2016 / 2017
All Students Basics (A*-C E&M/4+ E&M) / 55% / 59% / 64.0%
PP Students Basics (A*-C E&M/4+ E&M) / 33% / 47% / 53.8%
Basics Gap / -22% / -12% / -11%
All Students 5A*-C inc. E&M (4+) / 66% / 54% / 64%
PP Students 5A*-C inc. E&M (4+) / 40% / 50% / 54%
5A*-C inc. E&M Gap / -26% / -4% / -10%
All Students Progress 8 / - / -0.42 / -0.35
PP Students Progress 8 / - / -0.80 / -0.53
Progress 8 Gap / - / -0.38 / -0.18
All Students A*-C (4+) English Language / 64.3% / 64.1% / 72%
PP Students A*-C (4+) English Language / 40.7% / 60.0% / 46%
English Language A*-C Gap / -23.6% / -4.1% / -26%
All Students A*-C (4+) English Literature / 79.0% / 78.8% / 69%
PP Students A*-C (4+) English Literature / 59.3% / 69.4% / 50%
English Literature A*-C Gap / -19.7% / -9.4% / -19%
All Students A*-C (4+) Maths / 64.4% / 63.3% / 70%
PP Students A*-C (4+) Maths / 48.3% / 61.5% / 56%
Maths A*-C Gap / -16.1% / -1.8% / -14%

Attendance Data (3 year trend)

2014/15 / 2015/16 / 2016/17
Year / All / PP / All / PP / All / PP
7 / 96.1 / 95.7 / 95.9 / 95.4 / 94.7 / 93.4
8 / 94.6 / 92.5 / 96.3 / 94.9 / 94.6 / 93.9
9 / 93.7 / 92.5 / 95.2 / 94.3 / 95.2 / 93.9
10 / 94.1 / 91.8 / 95.4 / 95.0 / 93.8 / 88.6
11 / 94.9 / 92.1 / 95.9 / 94.7 / 86.0 / 84.2
Overall / 94.7 / 93.0 / 95.7 / 94.9 / 92.9 / 91.5
Gap / -1.7% / -0.8% / -1.4%

The Pupil Premium is used through a wide range of targeted interventions and whole-school initiatives, both academic and pastoral, to address barriers to learning of disadvantaged pupils.

Below is a summary of the Pupil Premium expenditure in 2016/17:

Approach / Desired Outcome / Estimated Impact / Lesson Learned
Alternative Curriculum Pathways / Introduction of VCERTs and Bishop Burton courses would create alternative pathways for certain students. / Reduced exclusions of disaffected students and provided them with more post-16 options. / Not continuing due to increase in cost. Increase in cost too much vs impact.
GL Assessment – Pass, Reading levels / Gaps in knowledge would be lessened throughout the school, due to rapid intervention. / Most gaps are diminishing in size, including Basics and P8. / Continue using GL assessment. More focus on PASS analysis in 2017/18.
Lexia / Increased literacy/reading ages to support curriculum access. / Students would be able to access all lessons sooner, as a result of better literacy. / Still in early stages. Early intervention in place in KS3. Transition group created. Continue through 2017/18.
Maths revision sessions / Gaps in Mathematics would be diminished between PP students and all students. / The Gap between PP and all students has diminished in Maths / To use a larger portion of the budget to provide private tuition for PP students, particularly FSM and CLA students.
English revision sessions / Gaps in English would be diminished between PP students and all students. / The Gap between PP and all students has diminished in English / To use a larger portion of the budget to provide private tuition for PP students, particularly FSM and CLA students.
Science revision sessions / Gaps in Science would be diminished between PP students and all students. / Science results improved for all students / To use a larger portion of the budget to provide private tuition for PP students, particularly FSM and CLA students.
Whole-school behaviour improvement / Students’ behaviour and attendance in lessons would improve, thus improving outcomes. / PP exclusions in line with all students.
Improved Reporting – Doddle / QLA used to target students earlier. “Go Green” weeks allow staff to rapidly challenge issues and move on with subsequent learning. / Assessment and learning in years 7, 8 and 9 is much more targeted. Students, teachers and parents are much more aware of areas for development. / To continue to develop Doddle to provide a bespoke assessment platform for North Kesteven Academy.
Attendance Improvement / Improved % attendance though attendance panels and increased phonecalls home. / Students with extremely poor attendance improved post-attendance panel. Y9 showed an improvement of 82% of students involved in attendance panels, Y10 showed an improvement of 100% and Y11 showed an improvement of 73%. / To continue conducting attendance panels into 2017/18.
External Agencies / To support our PP students’ mental health and behavioural needs through Need Bright Solutions and BOSS. / Students had access to much needed help, meaning they remained in school and accessed their lessons – positive impact on attendance and achievement. / To continue with these external agencies.
Digital clocks / Students’ timing in exams would significantly improve, due to some issues with analogue clocks. / Student feedback extremely positive. / Use digital clocks as the normal method in examination halls.
Examination packs / Students to have access to examination equipment to remove barriers to performance / All students equipped. / To continue providing these packs.
Music Tuition / Students have the opportunity to access music tuition, regardless of income / 34 students had access to a variety of musical lessons – broader curriculum / To continue funding music tuition
Materials for lessons / Students provided with materials for practical lessons, eg. Food Technology / All students able to fully access the curriculum and take part in the learning.
Examination Breakfasts and lunches / To encourage students to arrive early for school, attend revision sessions and have a healthy breakfast. / Student attendance at revision sessions was higher than in previous years. / To continue providing and advertising revision breakfasts for students.
Revision Guides / All students would be able to access the revision content needed in order to support their examination performance. / PP students received free revision guides in a number of subjects. Students voiced that they found this extremely helpful in supporting them. / To continue providing PP students with all they need for successful revision.
PiXL / To be a part of the PiXL group to enable our PP students to achieve in line with all students nationally. / Staff and students have been extremely positive about the initiatives and support provided. / To continue to be a part of the PiXL group to further improve standards.
SISRA and 4Matrix / To enable staff to confidently monitor and track students, thus enabling rapid and targeted intervention where needed. / Staff usage improving on a monthly basis. / To continue using SISRA, whilst providing ongoing support for staff.

Proposed plans for next year:

  • College structure – more individualised
  • Use of PASS to allow us to understand barriers to learning
  • EEF Toolkit – evidence base for all intervention
  • Ensure ALL disadvantaged pupils benefit from the funding, not just those underachieving
  • Stretch and challenge – upper-disadvantaged programme?
  • Long-term view on policy
  • FSM focus
  • Assign a senior leader to champion educational needs
  • Ensure all teachers know which pupils are in receipt of PP
  • Ensure all students across the school receive good or outstanding teaching
  • Improving attendance and punctuality – minimising the need for catch up
  • Expanding out of hours learning – period 6 intervention/breakfast club?
  • Making adjustments to plans accordingly, based on frequent data updates.
  • Improve links and communication with families – Extra PP parents’ eve?
  • Make a governor responsible for the reporting of PP from the SLT lead

Success Criteria

  • No in school gaps in progress or attainment
  • Positive P8 for PP
  • Removal of literacy barriers at KS3
  • Most able PP students can achieve above the national average
  • Attendance of PP students is 97%+
  • Exclusions for FSM and CLA students have reduced.

Common barriers:

Less support at home

Weak language and communication skills

Lack of confidence

More frequent behaviour difficulties

Attendance and punctuality issues

Complex family situations.