Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium Policy 

Pupil Premium Strategy (2023 - 2026)

Pupil Premium at St Mary's

At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, 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. We aim for all pupils to thrive in an inclusive environment where high standards of quality first teaching are available to all. 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. Our Strategy is also intended to support the needs of all Pupil Premium children, 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 part of our universal offer (OPAL 2023) and 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.

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

We prioritise spending our funding on high quality teaching, targeted academic support and using wider strategies that make a difference to the academic lives of children who experience disadvantage. We endeavour to use our Pupil Premium Grant to maximum effect, to secure the best teaching for every child in receipt of Pupil Premium. We seek to secure carefully monitored targeted academic support to meet the specific needs of our children and aspire to provide opportunities, through the use of wider strategies, in all aspects of life so our children can develop a lifelong love of learning that leads to high aspirations and ambitions for their future. In this way, we ensure that children who experience disadvantage have equal chances to be compassionate, courageous and curious citizens. In line with our Curriculum Intent, whole school Mission and Values and our Trinity Approach, we aim to enable all pupils to succeed irrespective of their starting points and backgrounds.

Free School Meals should be claimed (see link below) even if your child takes only the occasional school meal (or none at all) or if your child is in Reception / Year 1 / Year 2 and receives Universal Free School Meals. Please speak to the school office if you are unsure whether you qualify for Free School Meals.

Check your eligibility and how to register for Free School Meals. Every successful claim unlocks extra funding your child is entitled to.