The Pupil Premium was first introduced in April 2011. It is funding allocated to schools for children from low-income families who are known to be eligible for free school meals in both mainstream and non-mainstream settings, and children who had been looked after continuously for more than six months. This has been extended to all children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they feel is appropriate. However, they are responsible for how they use the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families and the other target groups. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not do as well as their more advantaged peers and the funds are aimed at helping to bridge the gap. This money is allocated to initiatives to ensure pupils reach their full potential, both academically and socially.

Statement of Intent for the use of Pupil Premium at St John's Middle School

What are your ultimate objectives for your disadvantaged pupils?

We set high expectations of all pupils and offer opportunities and support to allow them to give of their best and to achieve to their full potential. We seek to include all pupils, by giving each person value, dignity and an opportunity to belong and participate. We seek to educate the whole person in a way that offers new starts and opportunities.

How does your current pupil premium strategy plan work towards achieving those objectives?

Our Pupil Premium Strategy targets the core areas that children need to achieve well in order to prepare them for adulthood. We focus our Pupil Premium funding on the core skills of reading, writing and mathematics as well as personal and social development in order to secure the skills required to access all other areas of learning. Greater levels of literacy (both written and oral) and numeracy are essential to future success. Having good attendance in school contributes to this and ensures that children make the best possible progress through increased access to quality first teaching. By using Pupil Premium funding to improve attendance, this will in turn lead to improved academic outcomes and future employability and lead to greater life outcomes for our pupils.

What are the key principles of your strategy plan?

The key principles of our Pupil Premium Strategy are to invest in high-quality, evidence-based CPD and interventions to ensure that the money is spent on proven projects. We use evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to provide the rationale for our Pupil Premium Strategy, ensuring that all expenditure has a secure basis for success. We believe in continuous professional development for all of our staff and when implementing any changes or improvements in school, we ensure that all key staff and stakeholders receive the training they need to be able to deliver any interventions or teaching methods with integrity to the programme.

Key Principles For The Use Of Pupil Premium at St.John's Middle School

• We recognise that Pupil Premium pupils are not necessarily low ability and focus on supporting all disadvantaged pupils to achieve the highest levels
• The school thoroughly analyses which pupils are underachieving and why.
• We recognise that not all pupils who are socially disadvantaged have been registered for, or qualify for, free school meals. Pupil Premium funding can be used to support any pupil who we have legitimately identified as being socially disadvantaged.
• The school makes use of available evidence from both its own experience, and that of others; including research-based evidence from the EEF, when allocating funding that is most likely to have an impact on improving pupils' achievement
• Achievement data is reviewed regularly to monitor whether interventions or programmes are working effectively. 

• The school ensures that a designated senior leader, an Assistant Headteacher, the Head of School and the governors, have a clear overview of how funding is allocated. They review the difference it is making to the outcomes of pupils each term.

• Class and subject teachers are aware which pupils are eligible for the pupil premium enabling them to assume responsibility for maintaining and accelerating progress of those individuals
• Pupil premium funding is used successfully to deal with a range of issues, for example: attendance, behaviour, confidence, resilience, reading, factors outside of school, professional training for staff on helping disadvantaged pupils, effective teaching and learning, targeted support, further enrichment amongst other strategies.

Below is a table showing the amount of Pupil Premium funding allocated in previous years:

Funding Received
2013 - 2014	£89,117
2014 - 2015	£124,385
2015 - 2016	£135,190
2016 - 2017	£142,285
2017 - 2018	£143,220
2018 - 2019	£134,970
2019 - 2020	£119,515
2020 - 2021	£132,490
2021 - 2022	£153,445
2022 - 2023	£211,770

This year the school has also been allocated Recovery Premium funding at £145 per eligible Key stage 2 pupil and £276 per eligible Key Stage 3 pupil.Pupils are eligible based on the same criteria as for the Pupil Premium Grant.

• ·pupils who are eligible for free school meals (FSM)
• pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years
• children looked after by local authorities and referred to as looked-after children (LAC)
• post looked-after children (post-LAC)

The total Recovery Premium funding allocated is £31,626 bringing the total funding to £243,39

How the Pupil Premium is spent

The Pupil Premium is used in a variety of ways to support disadvantaged pupils in overcoming identified barriers. Research-backed strategies cover the following three areas:

1. Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)
2. Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)
3. Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)

Full detail can be found in the school's current pupil premium strategy. It is a 3-year strategy and can be found at the foot of this page. It is reviewed on an annual basis and published by the 31st December each year.

Progress for Disadvantaged Pupils over time at SJMS (2022 exit data) 

	Mathematics		English
	Whole cohort	Disadvantaged learners	Whole cohort	Disadvantaged learners	GL National Figures
% making expected progress over 4 years	99%	100%	89%	93%	75%
% making accelerated progress over 4 years	85%	81%	65%	78%	25%

The Schools Data shows that our PPE pupils make excellent progress and the gap between them and their peers is diminishing within the school. There has been a significant improvement in attendance, attitude and behaviour of pupils who have received support from the Pastoral Support team. Pupils who have received financial assistance with residential visits and trips have been able to access an enriched curriculum and benefit from gains in cultural capital resulting in improved attitude and performance. Furthermore, from monitoring effectiveness of interventions, it is evident that there has been a positive impact on not only pupils’ achievements, but also their confidence and self-esteem.

The Governing Body continues to monitor the funding and its impact on the progress of Pupil Premium pupils. Mrs S. Keepax is the governor for Pupil Premium, Mr D. Owen (Assistant Headteacher,) and Mrs A. Elwell (Head of School) are the people responsible for Pupil Premium.

Statement of Intent for the use of Pupil Premium at St John's Middle School

What are your ultimate objectives for your disadvantaged pupils?

We believe all children deserve the opportunity to nurture their individual talents and to achieve their true potential. At St. John’s Middle School, our school vision is;

• to be a school where every individual in our community is valued as a child of God and where care and concern for others is key. We will be guided by the Christian values of love, forgiveness, integrity and perseverance. We expect everyone to 'Give of their Best', achieve their full potential, be good citizens and respect difference in our growing global world.

We therefore have high expectations for all pupils and offer opportunities and support to allow them to give of their best. We seek to include all pupils, by giving each person value, dignity and an opportunity to belong and participate. We seek to educate the whole person in a way that offers new starts and opportunities, thereby improving pupil outcomes in all areas and promoting greater future prospects and life opportunities.

How does your current pupil premium strategy plan work towards achieving those objectives?

Our Pupil Premium Strategy targets the core areas that children need to achieve well, in order to prepare them for adulthood;

• - We ensure that high quality teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all pupils.
• - We ensure that appropriate provision is made for pupils who belong to vulnerable groups, this includes ensuring that the needs of disadvantaged pupils are adequately assessed and addressed.
• - We focus on the core skills of reading, writing and mathematics as well as personal and social development in order to secure the skills required to access all other areas of learning. Greater levels of literacy (both written and oral) and numeracy are essential to future success. Having good attendance in school contributes to this and ensures that children make the best possible progress through increased access to quality first teaching.
• - By using Pupil Premium funding to improve attendance, this will in turn lead to improved academic outcomes and future employability and lead to greater life outcomes for our pupils.
• - We ensure pupils have increased access to a range of support systems, including social- emotional and mental health, extra-curricular opportunities including school trips and visits and curriculum support from targeted resources in identified areas where improvement is required.

What are the key principles of your strategy plan?

The key principles of our Pupil Premium Strategy are to invest in high-quality, evidence-based CPD and interventions to ensure that the money is spent on proven projects. We use evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation to provide the rationale for our Pupil Premium Strategy, ensuring that all expenditure has a secure basis for success. We also ensure analysis of individual and group school data identifies key barriers to learning and ensure money is used appropriately to work towards overcoming these. We believe in continuous professional development for all of our staff and when implementing any changes or improvements in school, we ensure that all key staff and stakeholders receive the training they need to be able to deliver any interventions or teaching methods with integrity to the programme.

https://www.theschoolrun.com/the-parents-guide-to-the-pupil-premium