What is it?
Introduced in 2011, the pupil premium is a sum of money given to schools each year by the Government to improve the attainment of disadvantaged children.
This is based on research showing that children from low income families perform less well at school than their peers.
Often, children who are entitled to pupil premium face challenges such as poor language and communication skills, lack of confidence and issues with attendance and punctuality. The pupil premium is intended to directly benefit the children who are eligible, helping to narrow the gap between them and their classmates.
Evidence suggests that pupil premium spending is most effective when schools use a tiered approach, targeting spending across the following 3 areas below but focusing on teaching quality – investing in learning and development for teachers.
Teaching
We aim to ensure an effective teacher is in front of every class and regularly arrange training and professional development for all our staff to improve the impact of teaching and learning for pupils.
Academic support
All staff are encouraged to look at how they can provide targeted support, whether it be in structured 1:1, small groups or classroom teaching.
Wider approaches
At our school, we use the pupil premium to support with:
- music lessons for disadvantaged pupils
- educational trips or visits
- equipment/resources
- uniform
This helps us to:
- increase pupils’ confidence and resilience
- encourage pupils to be more aspirational
- benefit non-eligible pupils
Why has it been introduced?
The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most. Whilst schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit, we are required to publish online information about how we have used the Premium.
To read our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement please click on the link below:
Pupil Premium 2023-24
Pupil Premium Strategy Statement (2023-2024)
Pupil Premium 2022-23
Pupil Premium strategy statement (2022-2023)
Pupil Premium 2021-22
Rainford Pupil Premium Strategy (2021-2022)
How we support our Post Looked After Children
Post Looked After Children are supported in a number of ways whilst they are under our care at Rainford High. Post Looked After Children are children who have been adopted, have a Special Guardianship Order or a Child’s Arrangement Order in place and are no longer looked after by a Local Authority.
When a student joins Rainford High in Y7, they are allocated an Academic Coach to ensure they are supported with the transition from Primary to Secondary and are fully equipped to succeed. The Academic Coach will make contact with the child’s family each term to discuss progress, welfare and any support that may be required. Additionally, students will meet with their Academic Coach on a termly basis following on from a data sweep to discuss their current progress and to set some small targets to improve over the next term.
Post Looked After Children will have this support in place throughout their 7-year journey and may be offered further support as they approach their GCSE’s should this be required – this could be in the form of a short block of tuition to enhance their progress before their examinations or they could be supported with enrichment opportunities that are an essential part of their GCSE study.
We strive to ensure that every child in our care matters and has the ability to succeed regardless of their background.