Detail | Data |
School name | St Robert’s First School |
Number of pupils in school | 151 |
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils | 10% (2023-24) |
Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plan) | 2023 to 2026 |
Date this statement was published | July 2024 |
Date on which it will be reviewed | July 2025 |
Statement authorised by | David Sutcliffe, Headteacher |
Pupil premium lead | David Sutcliffe, Headteacher |
Governor | Amy Ruffle, lead for disadvantaged pupils |
Funding overview
Detail | Amount |
Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year | £23,910 |
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable) | £0 |
Total budget for this academic year If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year | £23,910 |
Our intention is that all pupils, irrespective of their background or the challenges they face, make good progress and achieve high attainment across all subject areas. The focus of our pupil premium strategy is to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve that goal, including progress for those who are already high attainers. We will consider the challenges faced by vulnerable pupils, such as those who have a social worker. The activity we have outlined in this statement is also intended to support their needs, regardless of whether they are disadvantaged or not. High-quality teaching is at the heart of our approach, with a focus on areas in which disadvantaged pupils require the most support. This is proven to have the greatest impact on closing the disadvantage attainment gap and at the same time will benefit the non-disadvantaged pupils in our school. Implicit in the intended outcomes detailed below, is the intention that non-disadvantaged pupils’ attainment will be sustained and improved alongside progress for their disadvantaged peers. Our strategy is also integral to wider school plans for education recovery, notably in its targeted support through a school-led tutoring for pupils whose education has been worst affected, including non-disadvantaged pupils. Our approach will be responsive to common challenges and individual needs, rooted in robust diagnostic assessment, not assumptions about the impact of disadvantage. The approaches we have adopted complement each other to help pupils excel. To ensure they are effective we will:
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This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.
Challenge number | Detail of challenge |
1 | Many of our Pupil Premium children are not fluent and confident readers by the time they reach year 4, which means that they find it difficult to access and understand the texts that they are expected to read in English and across the curriculum. It is rare for a Pupil Premium child to be above the expected level in reading. Many of our Pupil Premium children are compliant in class reading sessions, but read very little outside this time and they are often very unambitious in their choice of reading material. |
2 | Many of our Pupil Premium children are not fluent writers; their handwriting often lacks fluency and their punctuation and spelling is often weak. Their language ability and reading fluency means that they struggle to write more complex sentences and use more adventurous vocabulary. In science and foundation subjects, they tend not to elaborate and often do not understand the importance of being able to communicate through writing. |
3 | Many of our Pupil Premium children are not confident Mathematicians; their basic calculations skills are very weak. They lack mathematical language and fluency which means that they struggle to complete basic number sentences and are not confident in recalling multiplication facts. |
4 | Many of our Pupil Premium children have an additional status on our Pupil Support Register eg SEND; social, emotional or mental health needs; speech and language difficulties when younger; looked after or adopted. This makes their needs much more complex than just being behind in reading, writing or mathematics. As a group, they are characterised by low confidence and a lack of resilience. 17% of Pupil Premium children also have SEND and this can bring additional challenges for those pupils. |
5 | Disadvantaged pupils generally have greater difficulties with phonics than their peers. This negatively impacts their development as readers. |
6 | Our attendance data over the last 3 years indicates that attendance among disadvantaged pupils has been between 90.9% - 95.8% lower than for non-disadvantaged pupils. Disadvantaged pupils have been ‘persistently absent’ but these numbers have been very small, although have increased following the Pandemic. Our tracking and assessments indicate that absenteeism is negatively impacting a small number of disadvantaged pupils’ progress. |
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 |
All children, including disadvantaged children, have higher aspirations of what they can achieve at school and in the future. They are confident and resilient in new and challenging situations. | Sustained high levels of self-confidence and resilience amongst disadvantaged pupils is demonstrated through: Qualitative data from student voice, parent surveys and teacher observations. An increase in participation in extracurricular, sporting and other school activities, particularly among disadvantaged pupils. |
In Early Years and Key Stage 1, disadvantaged pupils have improved language, knowledge of everyday experiences and conversational skills. | Assessments and observations indicate a significant improvement in oracy amongst disadvantaged pupils in the 2023-24 and subsequent Reception cohorts. |
Disadvantaged pupils become fluent and confident readers by the time they reach the end of Y4. | End of year 4 outcomes in 2025 show that % of disadvantaged pupils in reading at the expected standard has increased. End of year 2 reading outcomes by 2025 show that disadvantaged pupils perform in line with all pupils. |
Disadvantaged pupils are fluent writers by the time they reach the end of year 4; their handwriting is fluent; they are confident with grammar, punctuation and spelling. | End of year 4 outcomes in 2025 show that at least 80% of pupils are writing at the expected standard. |
Disadvantaged pupils become confident mathematicians with good arithmetic skills that enable them to successfully tackle mathematical problem solving and reasoning. | Year 4 National Times Tables Check results show that disadvantaged pupils perform as well as their peers. End of year 4 outcomes in 2025 show that disadvantaged pupils perform in line with all pupils. |
Parents of Pupil Premium children feel they are able to support their children’s education at home. | 100% of disadvantaged pupils attend visits, including residentials. Pupil premium pupils are actively encouraged to attend extra-curricular clubs. No pupil is disadvantaged through access to technology at home. |
To achieve and sustain improved wellbeing for all pupils in our school, particularly our disadvantaged pupils. | Sustained high levels of wellbeing from 2024/25 demonstrated by:
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To achieve and sustain improved attendance for all pupils, particularly our disadvantaged pupils. | Sustained high attendance from 2024/25 demonstrated by:
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This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium funding this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
Budgeted cost: £6,810
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
Continued training for teachers and support staff on implementation of Read Write Inc. in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Purchase of additional resources to extend the RWI programme to additional pupils and provide materials for home reading. | Phonics approaches like Read Write Inc have a strong evidence base that indicates a positive impact on Early Reading and supports the development of accurate speech. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/phonics | 1 & 5 |
Emotional health and wellbeing structures and approaches, specifically enabling children to self-regulate and build resilience, will be embedded into routine educational practices and supported by professional development and training for staff. We will purchase resources and fund ongoing teacher training and release time. | 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): https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/primary-sel | 4 |
Adopt Nuffield Early Language Intervention to support language development in Early Years. | Research has shown that Nuffield Early Language Intervention is effective in improving expressive language. https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/nuffield-early-language-intervention | 1 & 5 |
Engaging with the school-led tutoring for pupils whose education has been most impacted by the pandemic. A significant proportion of the pupils who receive tutoring will be disadvantaged, including those who are high attainers. | Tuition targeted at specific needs and knowledge gaps can be an effective method to support low attaining pupils or those falling behind, both one-to-one and in small groups. Small groups: Small group tuition | Toolkit Strand | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF | 1, 2 & 3 |
Adapt whole class mathematics teaching to focus on the Ready to Progress materials for each age group. | https://d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/documents/guidance/EEF_Maths_Evidence_Review.pdf | 3 |
Arts participation - the school will gain its Arts Mark award and continue to be part of the Take One picture Campaign. | The children will be able to express themselves through art which has been shown to boost academic progress. | 4 |
Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
Budgeted cost: £12,600
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
Funding of extra Teaching Assistant provision to lead various intervention programmes (e.g First Class @Number), Read Write Inc and support learning of those in receipt of funding. | Ensuring that teaching assistants are deployed appropriately and are delivering high quality teaching experiences to pupils within classrooms and through targeted interventions. High impact on progress. Teachers spend more time in lessons feeding back to pupils 1:1 basis. While TA supervises the class. | 1,2,3,4, & 5 |
Purchase online/extra support progress in Maths - Timestable Rock Stars, Third Space Learning and Numicon. | Resources to support Mastery Maths. Pupils will be able to access some of these resources at home to reinforce their learning. | 3 |
Purchased a new literacy curriculum - The Write Stuff. | https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks2 https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-ks-1 https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/literacy-early-years | 1 & 2 |
Engaging with the school-led tutoring for pupils whose education has been most impacted by the pandemic. The focus for tuition will be disadvantaged pupils who are behind in mathematics and writing. | Small group tuition delivered by a teacher has an impact by providing additional support that is targeted at pupil needs.. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/small-group-tuition | 1,2,3 & 5 |
Purchased additional IT equipment to support learning across all curriculum areas. | Disadvantaged pupils need equity of access to technology. | 1,2,3 & 5 |
Purchase Sonar Tracker assessment which allows for detailed analysis on the pupil premium children and records interventions. | Identifying gaps in learning and tracking learning is key to supporting pupils' achievements. A clear and effective way of enabling this analysis supports high quality teaching. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/feedback | 1,2,3,4,5 & 6 4 |
Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)
Budgeted cost: £4,500
Activity | Evidence that supports this approach | Challenge number(s) addressed |
Provide funding for disadvantaged pupils so they are able to access trips and extra-curricular clubs. e.g Year 4 residential | ‘Educational Visits broaden young people's horizons, enable them to develop new skills and build relationships. They make young people more engaged with learning and therefore more likely to do well. 'Well managed school trips and outdoor activities are great for children.’ | 4 |
Rainbows Bereavement support | Specialised programme which uses elements of Social and Emotional Learning. Trained school staff deliver the programme over 10 sessions. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/social-and-emotional-learning | 4 |
ELSA training for 2 staff to become emotional literacy support assistants | Specialised programme which uses elements of Social and Emotional Learning. | 4 |
Total budgeted cost: £23,910
This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
Our internal assessments during 2023/24 suggested that the performance of Pupil Premium was in line with the previous 2 years in key areas of the curriculum. Gaps between PP and non-PP children have been reduced across school. In RWM more than 50% of PP are at the expected standard or above.
Although overall attendance in 2023/24 has recovered from the impact of Covid. At above 95% it remains higher than the national average. The FSM pupils remained lower than their peers 87% (9 pupils). Our very small number of persistent absentees were mainly our FSM pupils. Attendance for our Pupil Premium cohort continues to be a focus of our current plan - the school has evidence to the extent in which it has supported these pupils and their families. Our assessments and observations indicated that pupil behaviour, wellbeing and mental health were significantly impacted as a legacy of COVID-19. The impact was particularly acute for disadvantaged pupils. We used pupil premium funding to provide wellbeing support for all pupils, and targeted interventions where required. We are building on that approach with the activities detailed in this plan. |
Programme | Provider |
N/A | N/A |
N/A | N/A |
Measure | Details |
How did you spend your service pupil premium allocation last academic year? | We had 2 pupils who received the funding for 23/24. Both pupils were at the Expected Standard or above in RWM. The allocation was used to support payment for a residential trip and wrap around care. |
What was the impact of that spending on service pupil premium eligible pupils? | It supports their social and emotional wellbeing. It gives them the opportunity to share experiences with their peers. |