At St Leonard’s C of E Primary School all members of staff and governors accept responsibility for all pupils recognising that a number of pupils within the school population, some of whom are not eligible for pupil premium funding, may at any point during their school career require additional support and intervention. We are committed to meeting their pastoral, social and academic needs in a nurturing environment. As with every child in our care, a child who is in receipt of the pupil premium is valued, respected and entitled to develop to their full potential.

Background

The Pupil Premium is allocated to children who are currently known to be eligible for free school meals in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months. It is also used for pupils who have been on the free school meals register but no longer qualify. Schools have the freedom to spend the pupil premium, which is additional to the underlying schools budget, in a way they think will best support the raising of attainment for the most vulnerable pupils.

In order to meet the above requirements, the Governing Body and staff of St Leonard’s C of E Primary will ensure that provision is made which secures the teaching and learning opportunities that meet the needs of all pupils. As part of the additional provision made for pupils who belong to vulnerable groups, the Governors and staff of the school will ensure that the needs of pupils are adequately assessed and clarified at termly pupil progress meetings. In making provision for pupils, the Governors and staff of St Leonard’s recognise that not all pupils who are in receipt of the pupil premium will be disadvantaged. The Governors and staff also recognise that not all pupils who are disadvantaged qualify for the pupil premium. They therefore reserve the right to allocate the Pupil Premium funding to support any pupil or groups of pupils the school has legitimately identified as being disadvantaged.

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 and are young carers. 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.

Common barriers to learning for disadvantaged children in our school can be:

· Socio-economic disadvantage i.e. poverty

· Broken family structures – family stress and low resilience

· Poor health and diet and/or high level of medical needs

· Parents with stressful occupations who work long hours or away from home for long periods of time.

· Unsupported learning habits at home e.g. the home may lack resources for learning and pupils may not have had reading modelled to them. The children may not have adequate support for homework.

· Pupils may have family circumstances or expectations that impact negatively upon their learning and ability to take up extra-curricular opportunities.

· Social and emotional issues resulting in low confidence and self-esteem.

· Attendance: Some children’s attendance is low which will impact on their learning.

· Language delay or difficulties. This leads to social communication difficulties, and issues with reading and writing

· More frequent behaviour difficulties

· Metacognition and self-regulation.

· Low parental engagement/parenting skills

· Safeguarding and welfare issues which may lead to Social Services involvement

· Loss and bereavement

· Trauma and other mental health issues in the family and/or child

· Special educational needs and disabilities

The challenges are varied and there is no “one size fits all”. We will ensure that all teaching staff are involved in the analysis of data and identification of pupils, so that they are fully aware of strengths and weaknesses across the 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 the National Tutoring Programme 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: ensure disadvantaged pupils are challenged in the work that they’re set act early to intervene at the point need is identified adopt a whole school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and raise expectations of what they can achieve

As part of the additional provision made for vulnerable children, the staff ensure that the needs of pupils are adequately assessed each term and the attainment and progress of children is shared at termly pupil progress meetings.

If your child is currently in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 and having a school meal through the government's KS1 Free School Meals Entitlement, it is still important to register for the Free School Meals/Pupil Premium benefit if you think your child may be eligible.

Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

· Universal Credit with a household income of less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

· Income-Based Jobseekers’ Allowance

· Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance

· Child Tax Credit, not entitled to Working Tax Credit and household income less than £16,190

· Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

· Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

· Income Support

· Working Tax Credit ‘run on’ – the payment you receive for a further four weeks after you finish work. For more information about eligibility or how to apply please visit the Lancashire County Council website or contact school.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/free-school-meals/?page=1

Please read the Pupil premium strategy statement, which shows how school spends its Pupil Premium funding.