What is Pupil Premium?

Since 2011, the Pupil Premium has been the Government’s principal strategy to help schools improve the learning and opportunities of disadvantaged pupils, reducing the attainment gap and in doing so, reduce educational inequality.

Pupil Premium includes children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the past 6 years (the Ever 6 measure) and children who have left the care system through adoption, residence orders or special guardianship orders. Additionally, the Service Premium grant is for pupils who have a parent serving in the armed services

Pupil Premium is £1,050 per FSM Ever 6 secondary pupil and £2,570 for Looked after Children and Post LAC (adopted). The Service Premium is £340 per pupil.

The Department for Education has recently published a document on the Pupil Premium for 2024/25 and the conditions of the grant which is available to view here

Why is there a Pupil Premium?

Students who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. In 2009-10 GCSE statistics showed that around a third of students who have been on Free School Meals in the previous six years achieved five or more A*- C grades (now grades 9-4), compared to more than two-thirds of their fellow students.

How is the impact of the spending of the Pupil Premium measured?

Our usual cycle of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of the cohort’s attainment is used to inform student progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention for all year groups.

Statement of Intent

The Whitehaven Academy is committed to ensuring that all children, irrespective of background, achieve their full potential socially and academically.  At the core of TWA is a drive to forge strong relationships between pupils and staff. Central to the leadership culture is a drive to instil a sense of belonging and purpose for all students. Whilst TWA serves an area of significant coastal deprivation and isolation; it is also an area rich in STEM opportunities, with a deep sense of community between a coast of outstanding natural beauty and arguably the finest national park. The Pupil premium strategy aims to drive a sense of belonging and possibility for all and to ensure all students access rich academic, creative, sporting and cultural learning.

Our strategy aims to:

  • help us improve and sustain higher attainment for disadvantaged students at our school that is comparable with that of non-disadvantaged students nationally.  We aim to have no gap between the achievement of students in receipt of pupil premium and non-disadvantaged students.
  • Ensure that students experience a positive learning culture, where all learners are valued, wellbeing is supported and learning is celebrated.
  • Provide wellbeing support to ensure that our disadvantaged students feel supported, safe and happy and are able to learn.
  • Give students opportunities to experience rich cultural, creative and inspiring opportunities with and beyond the classroom, raising standards and inspiring them.
  • Prepare students for the next stage of learning, raise aspirations and increase applications for sixth form, and then challenging post level 3 learning pathways.

During the three-year strategy we will focus on the key challenges that are preventing pupils from high attainment. The approach will be responsive to both common challenges and our pupils’ individual needs, rather than assumptions about the impact of disadvantage. At The Whitehaven Academy we will adopt a whole-school approach in which all staff take responsibility for disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and have the highest expectations of what all students can achieve.

We have identified the barriers to educational success within our community, all of which are prominent barriers for the majority of disadvantaged students. Pupil Premium funding is used to support any activity that will directly address these barriers. Our philosophy and ethos, underpinning our holistic approach, guides all of our work with our students. The key areas our strategy targets are teaching and learning) activating hard thinking and developing data driven instruction); targeted support including tutoring and pastoral support; an explicit focus on literacy- particularly reading (Reading is a key focus.  All research indicates that if we raise levels in terms of reading this will have a direct impact on learning); and support with mental health and resilience.

 

Challenges

This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified among our disadvantaged pupils.

Challenge number Detail of challenge
1 Progress and Attainment

Despite substantial improvement overall as a school, internal and external data shows that the progress and attainment of many disadvantaged students is significantly behind that of other groups. Many disadvantaged students are not reaching the top grades at GCSE.
2 Attendance and Persistent Absence at KS4

Currently our attendance gap between our KS4 disadvantaged students (84.8%) to our non-disadvantaged KS4 students (90.1%). Both groups fall below school average (94.3%).

Although the attendance of disadvantaged students overall is above national average (90.5%), this gap is significant.
3 Activating Hard thinking, Developing Literacy

Our assessments show that our disadvantaged students are more likely to have a tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary deficit and reading comprehension issues in comparison to our non-disadvantaged students, which may prevent them from accessing certain parts of the curriculum, especially in examination papers at KS4. There are specific gaps in English and maths. Alongside this we need to develop students level of thinking.
4 Aspiration and embracing opportunities to develop and progress

September 2024 saw a significant rise in students progressing on to sixth form with the introduction of A levels. However, the numbers of PP students continuing does not reflect school figures. Similarly, despite a substantial increase in students taking on valuable enrichment opportunities such as Duke of Edinburgh and Cumbrian Award, PP students remain under represented. We need to develop further a sense of sense of belonging and confidence.
5 Wellbeing, emotional and self-confidence issues

Our assessments, discussions and observations have identified social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) issues for more of our disadvantaged pupils than our non-disadvantaged. This is particularly apparent since the pandemic and also the situation with rising cost of living. This has led to a significantly higher safeguarding need.    51% of Early helps of students in school are for disadvantaged students.