The Pupil Premium 2014-15

In April 2014 the amount of Pupil Premium awarded to Kings Furlong Juniors was £78,300 for 2014-15 based on £1300 per eligible child.  Again, the money is to be deployed to ensure raised attainment and increased rates of progress of children who are vulnerable due to disadvantaged backgrounds.  The spending plan is as follows:

The impact of the premium on achievement will be monitored throughout the year in the following ways:

• Scrutiny of workbooks by senior leadership team and English and maths leaders – frequency will depend on the rate of progress each PP child is making.
• Analysis and evaluation of termly assessment data by heads of year, English and maths leaders and senior leadership team
• Pupil conferencing
• Pupil progress meetings with action/who/when action plans written for individual or groups of children.
• Pupil premium profiles for each PP child to track daily progress in lessons, reviewed weekly at staff meetings
• Records of conversations with parents, children and teachers
• Half termly meetings between Inclusion Leader and PP governor, to discuss progress data and impact of PP spending funded interventions, and progress against the PP action plan
• Standing agenda item at meetings of the Governing Body’s Standards and Resources Committees

Monthly liaison between Attendance Leader and Inclusion Leader to discuss any attendance/punctuality concerns for PP children.

REVIEW STATEMENTS

During 2014-15 Kings Furlong Juniors used the Pupil Premium in the following ways:

Focus groups

There are English focus groups in all 4 year groups, a focus maths group in Y6 and they run every morning.  The composition of each group is decided within the year group and is based on the most effective ways to meet the needs of the children.  For example, the Y6 English group consists of the most able children, the Y4 group the least able and Y3 and Y5 a broader mix of ability.

Impact

The PP children in the Y3 focus group have almost made outstanding progress.  In Year 4, the PP children have made expected key stage progress based on sublevels.  Although their key stage progress is not yet ‘good’, the PP children in Y5 made outstanding progress this year, which will enable them to catch up by the end of the key stage.  In Y6, the children made outstanding year and key stage progress.

Coaching

Y6 PP children were coached in maths – a level 4 group of 8 children and a level 5 group of 7 children.  There was a SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) group of 5 children for the writers who needed stretching to attain a level 4.  Each group was coached twice a week.

Children in years 3-5 who were most at risk with their writing progress were coached.  This was a combination of working in class and out of class as appropriate and was tailored to each child’s needs.  This involved working with the class teacher to develop best practice for that particular child as well as making resources, checklists etc to support learning and independence.

Impact

The level 4 maths group made outstanding progress and good key stage progress.  The level 5 maths group made outstanding year progress.  The level 4 SPAG group also achieved outstanding year progress and good key stage progress.

Of the children coached in Years 3-5, 75% made good or better in-year progress.  47% have made expected or better key stage progress.  Some of these children will receive further support to ensure their progress continues in order to further close the gap in their key stage progress.

Attendance

The school tracks all children who have attendance and punctuality issues, including those who are PP, and take action where necessary. We also deploy our Family Support Worker who is effective at helping families with attendance and punctuality issues.  This area is well tracked and monitored. There have been many successes of improving punctuality and attendance since September.  An attendance prize is awarded every week in Celebration Assembly to reinforce the importance of good attendance and punctuality.

Iris camera

The camera, Spike, is used for teachers to assess the quality of teaching and learning within their own lessons.  As part of the review time, teachers are required to monitor how PP children are progressing within the lesson.  Outcomes and appropriate actions are recorded in the PP profiles.  The impact of the actions is discussed during performance management meetings and at year team meetings.

Family Support Worker

Kathy Gare supports families who are experiencing behaviour issues and punctuality and attendance issues.  60% of the families she supports are PP. Kathy provides a vital link between school and the parents of our children who find it difficult to access their learning for a variety of reasons. She also hears PP readers on a frequent basis.   Some examples of Kathy’s work include:

• Supporting a mother who has difficulty organising her 2 children in the mornings so that they arrive at school punctually and ready for learning.
• Supporting our parents when outside agencies that are involved with the family.
• Supporting several parents who have health issues which impact on the children’s wellbeing.

Pupil Premium Profiles (not funded from PP budget)

30 minutes of each weekly staff meeting is ring-fenced for teachers to reflect on the progress of their PP learners that week and to decide on appropriate actions to undertake in order to further their progress.  These are monitored by Miss Dunn.

What next?

We are taking a different approach to supporting PP children through the deployment of the Pupil Premium in 2015-16.  Coaching, year 6 focus groups, attendance monitoring and our Family Support Worker will continue.  However, greater emphasis will be placed on supporting class teachers through developing quality-first teaching within the classroom which will benefit PP children more effectively.  This will be done through learning walks, greater use of Spike, professional coaching and Head of Year support.  The impact of all of these actions will be monitored by Miss Dunn and overseen by Mr Applegate and the governors.