Fox Primary School
Pupil Premium strategy statement
This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils.
It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school.
School overview
Detail | Data |
School name | Fox Primary School |
Number of pupils in school | 414 |
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils | 11.35% |
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended) | 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 |
Date this statement was published | Autumn 2025 |
Date on which it will be reviewed | Autumn 2026 |
Statement authorised by | Emma Madden (HoS) |
Pupil premium lead | Polly Calvert (AHT) |
Governor / Trustee lead | Alison Mould (CoG) |
Funding overview
Detail | Amount |
Pupil premium funding allocation (FSM) | £48,480.00 (Financial year) |
Pupil premium funding allocation (LAC/PLAC) | £47,340.00 (Financial year) |
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) | £0 |
Total budget: If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year | £95,820.00 |
Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan
Statement of intent
Our intention is that all pupils, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face, make good progress and achieve well across all subject areas. The focus of our pupil premium strategy is to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve that goal, including pupils who start the school with low, medium or high prior attainment. Intent:
Objectives:
Principles of Implementation:
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Challenges
This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils. We use a range of tools to identify the common challenges that our pupil premium children face in addition to individual barriers to learning, including:
- Assessments (internal and external, where available)
- Observations
- Surveys (pupils, staff and parent voice)
- Discussions with staff, pupils and families
- Attendance data
- National studies
Current School Profile:
Of our current pupils eligible for PPG. Â 35% have SEN. Â 10% have EHCP. Â 26% are LAC or PLAC and 70% have EAL - Data Sept 2025
Challenge number | Detail of challenge |
1 | Assessments and observations indicate that partial school closures have impacted disadvantaged pupils to a greater extent than other pupils, resulting in greater knowledge gaps leading to some pupils not meeting age-related expectations. |
2 | Assessments, observations and discussions with pupils show that attainment among disadvantaged pupils is below that of non-disadvantaged pupils. |
3 | Assessments, observations and discussions with pupils indicate that disadvantaged pupils generally enter the school with lower attainment in phonics and early reading development. |
4 | Assessments, observations and discussions with pupils indicate that disadvantaged pupils have lower social and emotional and communication and language development . |
5 | Discussions with pupils and families suggest disadvantaged pupils lack access to wider enriching and cultural experiences. |
6 | Our school profile shows a high percentage of PP children also on the SEN register. |
7 | Observations, discussions with pupils and parents show that a high number of our disadvantaged pupils (LAC and Post LAC) display the difficulties associated with early childhood (complex) trauma. (See appendix regarding PP+ spending) |
8 | Observations, discussions with pupils and parents show that a significant proportion of our disadvantaged pupils have emotional and behavioural challenges that can act as a barrier to learning. |
Intended outcomes
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
Intended outcome | Success criteria |
Improved oral language skills and vocabulary among disadvantaged pupils. | Assessments and observations indicate significantly improved oral language among disadvantaged pupils. This is evident when triangulated with other sources of evidence, including engagement in lessons, book scrutiny and ongoing formative assessment. |
Improved phonics skills among disadvantaged pupils. | Phonics assessments, observations and screener show disadvantaged pupils are making significant improvement in reading and spelling. Â Phonics outcomes in 2027/2028 show that that attainment at the expected standard exceeds that of all children nationally |
Improved reading attainment among disadvantaged pupils. | KS2 reading outcomes in 2027/28 show that attainment at the expected standard or higher exceeds that of non-disadvantaged children nationally |
Improved maths attainment for disadvantaged pupils at the end of KS2. | KS2 maths outcomes in 2027/28 show that attainment at the expected standard or higher exceeds that of non-disadvantaged children nationally |
Improved writing attainment for disadvantaged pupils at the end of KS2. | KS2 writing outcomes in 2027/28 show that attainment at the expected standard or higher exceeds that of non-disadvantaged children nationally |
To achieve and sustain improved wellbeing for all pupils in our school, particularly our disadvantaged pupils. | Sustained high levels of wellbeing from 2027/28 demonstrated by:
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Pupils will have access to enriching experiences | As they move through the school, all children have sustained engagement across the curriculum in a range of enriching activities. Disadvantaged pupils access a range of subsidised opportunities and additional opportunities as they move through the school. |
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
Budget: £57,989
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
1. Review of Assessment in Core Subjects to ensure appropriate diagnostic information provided, for catch-up and closing the gap and NFER tests are used for maximum impact. Â This includes YARCS Reading Fluency assessments to prioritise Strong Foundations. Time for Maths and Reading Leads to moderate and implement new assessments effectively using the ARBOR system. | Standardised tests can provide reliable insights into the specific strengths and weaknesses of each pupil to help ensure they receive the correct additional support through interventions or teacher instruction. Additional assessments are required to provide diagnostic and formative assessment on key areas of foundational learning. YARCS reading fluency helps identify key areas of priority for foundational skills in reading. Standardised tests | Assessing and Monitoring Pupil Progress | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF | 1, 2 |
2. Embedding dialogic activities across the school curriculum to enable improved oracy. These can support pupils to articulate key ideas, consolidate understanding and extend vocabulary. We will purchase resources and fund ongoing teacher training and release time, linked to SIP on oracy. This includes training on shape coding to be incorporated into Universal Provision for EYFS, KS1 and SEN and underattainers in KS2. This includes whole school training on oral composition and sentence building, linked with the Writing Framework. | There is a strong evidence base that suggests oral language interventions, including dialogic activities such as high-quality classroom discussion, are inexpensive to implement with high impacts on reading: Oral language interventions | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF High quality CPD for staff on oral composition and sentence building also leads to adaptations to English planning and resourcing, to scaffold learning for all pupils. | 4 |
3. Â Improve the quality of social and emotional (SEL) learning. SEL approaches will be embedded into routine educational practices and supported by professional development and training for staff. Release time for training and funding CPD - including Level Up and Level Down and continuous behaviour training. | There is extensive evidence associating childhood social and emotional skills with improved outcomes at school and in later life (e.g., improved academic performance, attitudes, behaviour and relationships with peers): EEF_Social_and_Emotional_Learning.pdf(educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) | 4,7, 8 |
4. Continued subscription to DfE validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme Essential Letters and Sounds to secure stronger phonics teaching for all pupils, high quality interventions, and representation in the key imagery.  Further resources to be bought and time devoted to training of staff. | Phonics approaches have a strong evidence base that indicates a positive impact on the accuracy of word reading (though not necessarily comprehension), particularly for disadvantaged pupils: Phonics | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF | 3 |
5. Enhancement of our maths teaching and curriculum planning in line with DfE and EEF guidance. We will fund teacher release time to embed key elements of guidance in school and to access Maths Hub resources and CPD (including Teaching for Mastery training). Rec to Year 5 engaged and focused on embedding Mastering Number to prioritise foundational Maths skills. | The DfE non-statutory guidance has been produced in conjunction with the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, drawing on evidence-based approaches: Maths_guidance_KS_1_and_2.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk) The EEF guidance is based on a range of the best available evidence: Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3 Strong Foundations outlines the importance of securing foundational learning in number facts. | 1,2 |
6. Small group teaching for targeted under-attaining pupils, where ‘gaps’ are most significant, led by most experienced teachers, in core subjects resulting in smaller class sizes for all children in the year group in specified subject. | Evidence collated by EEF suggests that small group teaching has a greater beneficial impact on disadvantaged children. Evidence collated by EEF on impact of teacher experience: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-do-ye | 1, 2, 4, 8 |
7. Programme of CPD and support for staff at all levels. We will fund high quality externally led CPD for our staff and provide release time for CPD and staff development activities at every level, particularly for ECTs. This includes memberships for subject leaders to professional bodies across subject areas. | For example, cross federation courses and staff meetings, school based staff meetings, external training, co-planning, co teaching, modelled lessons and coaching. EEF: There is a clear body of evidence to suggest that supporting high quality teaching is pivotal in improving children’s outcomes. Indeed, research tells us that high quality teaching can narrow the disadvantage gap. And that promoting effective professional development (PD) plays a crucial role in improving classroom practice and pupil outcomes https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/effects-high-quality-professional-development/ | 1, 2, 3, 4,  6, 7, 8 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budget: £55,075
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
8. Purchase of programmes and interventions to improve oral language, speaking and listening and social language for disadvantaged pupils who have relatively low spoken language skills Includes:
| Oral language interventions can have a positive impact on pupils’ language skills. Approaches that focus on speaking, listening and a combination of the two show positive impacts on attainment: Oral language interventions | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) There is strong evidence to suggest that EAL learners typically lag behind their English monolingual peers in both expressive and receptive vocabulary.  https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Literacy_Development_Evidence_Review.pdf | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
8.b  Autism specialist teacher employed two days a week to lead structured interventions with targeted pupils and advise other school staff on appropriate in-class support. Interventions include:
Advice to teachers and TAs encompasses:
| A high proportion of our PP children are also on the SEND register There is good quality research evidence about effective interventions in the areas of cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health, and communication and interaction. A key finding was the important role of training for all education professionals. Teaching assistants can provide good quality intervention if they are well trained. Â A second overarching finding related to the role of each stage of the graduated approach advocated in the SEND Code of Practice. While this review focused on interventions and support strategies, it was clear that detailed assessment of individual children is necessary to select the most appropriate approach, and progress should be monitored when using any intervention to assess whether it is effective for that particular child. | 4, 6, 7, 8 |
9. Additional phonics sessions targeted at disadvantaged pupils who require further phonics support. This will be delivered in line with the school based programme, ELS - following English Hub Training. | Phonics approaches have a strong evidence base indicating a positive impact on pupils, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. Targeted phonics interventions have been shown to be more effective when delivered as regular sessions over a period up to 12 weeks: Phonics | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF | 3 |
9b. Targeted interventions in core subjects to support foundational learning, including vocabulary acquisition, reading and number facts. | There is evidence that carefully planned, targeted support delivered by suitably trained adults and linking to classroom learning, can improve outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged pupils: | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budget: £96,848
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
10. Ongoing whole staff training on trauma-sensitive behaviour management and implementation of the behaviour policy and cross-federation values. Ongoing training for Designated Adult for looked after children. Fund additional release time for targeted support for teachers. Please see appendix below re the use of PP+ spending | Both targeted interventions and universal approaches can have positive overall effects: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/behaviour Behaviour interventions | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) There is a large and growing evidence base showing the impact of child trauma and the importance of developing a trauma sensitive approach to behaviour in schools | 7, 8 |
11. Specialist staff to deliver the highest quality teaching across the school.
| EVIDENCE in toolkits relates to impact on English and Maths Attainment.  This target relates directly to aim to broaden enriching experiences. This ensures highest quality teaching in all lessons. EEF: There is a clear body of evidence to suggest that supporting high quality teaching is pivotal in improving children’s outcomes. Indeed, research tells us that high quality teaching can narrow the disadvantage gap. And that promoting effective professional development (PD) plays a crucial role in improving classroom practice and pupil outcomes | 5, 8 |
12. Pupils will have funded access to enriching experiences. For example:
| Research has shown that access to wraparound care has a positive impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/insights-wraparound-childcare Research shows that access to enrichment activities improves pupil attendance: | 5,8 |
13. Pupils given access to high quality books for personal and guided reading and additional time to read and enjoy books. Pupils provided individual copies of books in order to attend half termly book clubs. For example:
| Research has shown that a robust RfP pedagogy encompassed four practices: reading aloud, informal booktalk and recommendations, and independent reading time within a highly social reading environment. ourfp.org/reading-for-pleasure-pedagogy/ https://clpe.org.uk/system/files/CLPE%20Reading%20for%20Pleasure%202021_0.pdf Research identifies that pupils who have access to high quality literature are more likely to read for pleasure, having a significant impact upon their progress, vocabulary and knowledge of the world around them.  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c18d540f0b61a825d66e9/reading_for_pleasure.pdf | 2, 3 |
14. Employment of full-time senior learning mentor | When used appropriately, Learning Mentors are shown to have a positive impact upon pupils’ progress, engagement and well-being. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/mentoring | 6, 7, 8 |
15. Additional mental health support provided by widened pathway offer through consolidation of Place2Be. Â | Support from Place2Be helps pupils, families and school staff become more mentally healthy. | 4, 7, 8 |
Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year
Pupil premium strategy outcomes
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Targeted areas of support were very impactful.  Namely phonics provision targeted at Reception, Y1 and Y2.  With a phonics pass rate of 100% for the Year 1 pupils receiving PPG (6 pupils), compared to 68% of disadvantaged pupils nationally (2024) or 80% of all pupils. NB - Data not available for non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Of the departing Year 6 pupils, 7 received PPG: Â
 Progress measures are not available for this cohort (as no KS1 data) ASP - updates not yet available  for Academic Year 24/25 - for non-disadvantaged pupils national comparisons. 2023 - 2024 data Of 11 disadvantaged pupils 91% achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with 67% of non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Reading Average Scaled Score  109.5, compared to 106.2 of non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Maths Average Scaled Score  110.3, compared to 105.6 of non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. | ||
Of our current pupils eligible for PPG. Â 35% have SEN. Â 10% have EHCP. Â 26% are LAC or PLAC. and 70% have EAL. | ||
Summer 2025 Assessment Data | Whole School | PP |
% achieving at/above expected standard in Reading | 83.8% | Â Â 68.4% |
% achieving above expected standard in Reading | 42% | 10.9% |
% achieving at/above expected standard in Writing | 66% | 34.7% |
% achieving above expected standard in Writing | 24.2% | 4.3% |
% achieving at/above expected standard in Maths | 86.5% | 65.2.8% |
% achieving above expected standard in Maths | 35.7% | 8.7% |
No IDSR progress measures available for 25-26 | ||
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any non-DfE programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help the Department for Education identify which ones are popular in England
Programme | Provider |
ELS Communication Champions | Oxford University Press |
APPENDIX
Pupil Premium Plus Spending at Fox Primary School                               Â
What is Pupil Premium Plus?
In 2013 the DfE introduced Pupil Premium Plus for looked after and previously looked after children. In doing this, the DfE acknowledged the enduring impact of trauma and loss in children's lives and the key role of schools in supporting children who have had a difficult start in life. Pupil premium plus is currently £2,630 per child per year.
Who is eligible for Pupil Premium Plus?
Pupil Premium Plus is available to pupils from reception age to Year 11 in state-funded education in England who:
• Are in local authority care in England.
• Have been adopted from care in England or Wales.
• Left care under a Special Guardianship Order (SGO).
• Left care under a Child Arrangements Order (formerly known as a Residence Order).
Until 2023, children who have been adopted from overseas were not eligible for PP+, unless it could be demonstrated that they were previously looked-after by a public authority, a religious organisation or other care provider whose purpose is to benefit society. From 2023, these children are now also eligible for PP+, subject to submission of the relevant evidence of adoption to the school. (Source: Achieving for Children Virtual School).
How does the DfE say it should be spent?
The DfE has said that it intends the funding to be spent on:
‘...helping adopted children emotionally, socially and educationally by providing specific support to raise their attainment and address their wider needs.’
The broader focus on children’s social and emotional, educational and wider needs is in contrast to the Pupil Premium for children eligible for free school meals, which is focused more narrowly on closing the attainment gap.
The money is not ring-fenced and does not have to be spent on the individual child. The DfE has said that it has introduced this flexibility so that schools can get maximum impact from the funding and so that children who change schools are not disadvantaged.
For children who are still in the care of a Local Authority, their PP+ funding is managed by the head of the Virtual School within the LA which manages their support. Termly PEP meetings with the school’s Designated Adult and the child’s class teacher inform the ways in which this funding is allocated. When a child is under the care of their Local Authority through the Virtual School, they may receive more or less than the designated annual amount, dependent upon their level of need.
How do we use Pupil Premium Plus Funding at Fox?
Staff Training
- Time allocated each year for the Designated Adult to deliver training to all staff on the needs of children who have experienced trauma and attachment difficulties
- The development of a trauma-sensitive behaviour policy by the Deputy Head and Designated Adult, including termly training to embed the approach and coaching support to staff provided by the Designated Adult
- Training for all staff on emotional literacy and the use of approaches such as Level Up
- Bought-in training when appropriate, for example from the Educational Psychologist or members of specialist support teams
- Access to training and time for research for the Designated Adult to ensure she is up-to-date with best practice in this area
Interventions and Additional Support
- The use of two Higher Level TAs as trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistants to meet the needs of children experiencing emotional difficulties, including those who are looked after or previously looked-after
- Social and Emotional intervention and support groups such as lego therapy, playground skills and small breakout groups during larger playtimes, led by TAs and HLTAs within each year group
- Regular check-ins and coaching with senior learning mentor for LAC/post-LAC children who struggle with emotional and behavioural regulation
- Smaller groups and targeted support across the curriculum, where appropriate and dependent upon the level of need of the child
- Additional support at key times of transition - i.e. additional time with a new teacher, photos/letters home or additional transition meetings with parents and carers
- Additional adult support where required - for example when on the carpet or at the table during whole-class activities
- The maintenance of good communication between home and school and a shared understanding of children’s needs
- Designated adult meets with the parents and carers of all new LAC/post-LAC children in the school when they join, and organises coffee mornings for the parents of adopted or looked after children in liaison with Coram Ambitious for Adoption
External agencies
- Bought-in consultations or training with the Local Authority Educational Psychologist when appropriate
- P2B support - post-LAC and LAC children prioritised on waiting lists and given increased numbers of sessions when required
- Access to Place2Talk for children, and PIPT parenting support
- Service Level Agreements with local authority services such as SALT, when appropriate
- Consultative support from specialist organisations such as the Pears Family School and the Anna Freud Centre