Pupil Premium

At North Petherton Primary, we have high aspirations and ambitions for our children and we believe that all learners should be able to reach their full potential. We strongly believe that reaching your full potential is not about where you come from, but instead, about developing the necessary skills and values required to succeed.

Our pupils in receipt of the Pupil Premium Funding face specific barriers to reaching their full potential, and we are determined to provide the support and guidance they need to help them overcome these barriers. In addition to this, we aim to provide them with access to a variety of exciting opportunities and a rich and varied curriculum.

The Pupil Premium is allocated to schools for children of statutory school age from low-income families who are known to be eligible for free school meals (FSM) in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings to children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months and to children whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces.

From 2012-2013, this will also include pupils eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years (known as the Ever 6 FSM measure). Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. However, we will be held accountable for how we have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families.

We use ‘The tired Approach to School Improvement’ as shared by the Education Endownment Foundation (EEF) to help us make decisions about how best to spend the money. Click here to read more information about this:

1. High quality teaching  

Spending on developing high quality teaching may include investment in professional development, training and support for early career teachers, along with recruitment and retention. Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and that every teacher is supported to keep improving, is the key ingredient of a successful school and should rightly be a top priority for pupil premium spending.

2. Targeted academic support

Evidence consistently shows the positive impact that targeted academic support can have, including on those who are not making good progress, or those who have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of the pandemic. Considering how classroom teachers and teaching assistants can provide targeted academic support, such as linking structured small group interventions to classroom teaching and the curriculum, is likely to be an essential ingredient of an effective pupil premium strategy.

3. Wider strategies

Wider strategies relate to the most significant non-academic challenges to success in school, including attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional support, which also may negatively impact upon academic attainment. While many challenges may be common between schools, it is also likely that the specific features of the community each school serves will affect spending in this category. Many approaches within the tiered model will overlap categories, and the balance between categories will vary from year to year as the schools’ priorities change. Schools should always combine evidence with professional judgement about how transferable approaches are to their own setting.

Click on the Pupil Premium Reports below to see how we have allocated this funding: