Pupil Premium

Publicly-funded schools in England recieve additional funding from the Government in order to help them improve the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils.

Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds:

• Generally face extra challenges in reaching their full potential at school
• Often do not perform as well as their peers

The funding is allocated to a range of initiatives aimed at supporting disadvantaged pupils, to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as all other children and to ensure that they reach their full potential. In addition to FSM (Free School Meals)  the school may receive pupil premium funding for any ‘Looked after children’ (Children in Care), Armed Forces children or children who have been adopted, have a residency order or special guardianship.

On-going guidance and research from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), has supported St. Martin's School to use a tiered approach to Pupil Premium which focuses on improving teaching, targeted academic support and other wider strategies.

Teaching – Quality First Teaching is our top priority for Pupil Premium spending and includes professional development and incremental coaching to ensure that every teacher is supported to keep improving. 

Targeted academic support – Key structured one-to-one or small group interventions by teaching assistants is a key component of our Pupil Premium strategy, ensuring that children who fall behind in their learning close gaps quickly and effectively. Being an inclusive school is fundamental to our practice and we strive to remove any barriers to learning for all our students.  This is done by following a graduated response in order to understand individual pupils' needs.

Wider strategies – Ways to support and overcome the most significant non-academic barriers to success in school, including attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support are also targeted through our Pupil Premium strategy. With the support of our family advocate, we are able to work with and support families to ensure the best outcomes for their children, both inside and outside of the classroom.