Pupil Premium Funding and Catch Up Funding 2023 to 2024

Use of Pupil Premium at St Luke’s Academic Year 2023-24

What is Pupil Premium Funding?
The Pupil Premium is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.
Pupil Premium Funding is available to both mainstream and non-mainstream schools, such as special schools and pupil referral units.
In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, St Luke’s will receive £1,455 funding for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years. We will also receive £2,530 for each looked-after pupil who:

• has been looked after for 1 day or more
• was adopted from care on or after 30 December 2005, or left care under:
  • a special guardianship order
  • a residence order

There is also another form of funding called the Service Premium.  The Service Premium gives schools extra funding to support children and young people with parents in the armed forces. Pupils attract the premium if they meet the following criteria:

• one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces
• one of their parents served in the regular armed forces in the last 3 years
• one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil is in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS)

For the financial years 2023 to 2024, the Service Premium is set at £335 per eligible pupil.

How much will we receive?
We are expecting to receive £91,665 in pupil premium funding this year. 
 
What will the Pupil Premium Funding spent on during 2023-24?
 
We have identified key areas for support for all of the children (who are entitled to pupil premium funding).  We are then targeting support to the children in those areas. This academic year the Pupil Premium funding will be used to:

Improve Teaching

1. All teachers to develop a pedagogical understanding of the children they are working with and how this links to the curriculum.  Through training, research and visits to other schools to explore outstanding practice.  Learning will be disseminated amongst staff members as part of a whole school approach
2. Focussed support for all teachers. Training to support their development with regards to Early reading and writing, phonics and early maths skills.
3. Research the development of early communication and interaction skills and develop a strategy to help improve outcomes for children within Early Years.  Train staff to understand the strategy

Targeted Academic Support

1. Small group/individual sessions for Focussed Reading Sessions and phonics development sessions
2. Increase the number of staff in classes to ensure that children have the opportunity to work in small groups or 1-1 work.  
3. Individual and small group tutoring sessions out of class to develop children’s reading, writing and maths skills
4. Extra 1-1 focussed speech and language/communication sessions to further develop children’s communication skills

 Wider Strategies

1. Finalise whole school to mental health and well-being, with support from “With me in mind” and the Learning Disabilities Nurse. Train and support staff to understand and following the school approach.  Include milestones and targets for improvement in the plan.
2. Further develop school approaches to autism and communication and train staff to enable them to meet the children’s communication and interaction needs.  Identify the impact that the revised approach has on behaviour and well-being
3. Provide resources and educational experiences (for example, contributions to school visits) to enhance the quality of education and the children’s personal development