Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium Spending Plan

The Harris Aspire Spending Plan 2023-24 

In April 2011, the Government introduced the Pupil Premium Grant. This grant which is additional to standard funding, is seen by the government as the best way to address the national inequalities between students eligible for free school meals, or have been within the last 6 years, (PP) and Looked after Children (LAC) and other students. The grant is designed to ensure that funding to address disadvantage reaches the students who need it most.

Funding for Pupil Premium is given directly to mainstream schools. At Aspire students are “Dual rolled” with students registered as “Main” with the commissioning sites and “Subsidiary” at the alternative provision. Consequently, funding is not given directly to the academy. Instead the commissioning schools are charged the pupil premium funding as a proportion of the length of time that students are in the alternative provision. Students needs are assessed by the academy SENCO and the Pupil Premium funding is allocated for each individual student. Common expenditure (not exclusive) for our alternative provision students involves:

Breakfast club

Reducing hunger, improved concentration and behaviour. Opportunity to develop social skills.

Additional Intervention sessions

Evidenced by EEF as having moderate impact for high cost. Intensive support outside of the classroom as additional teaching to help student complete course requirements.

Additional Therapeutic Support

Examples are Dependency Counselling, Behaviour Mentoring, Life coaching and Counselling that can positively influence student mindset, set aspirations and goals and place short term goals/plan in place to help reach milestones. Leading to better engagement with education and increase in making positive choices.

Social and Emotional Learning sessions:

Evidenced by EEF as having moderate impact for moderate cost. Seeks to improve student interaction with others and self-management of emotions.

Purchase of Resources

This may include Digital Technology equipment, stationary, additional books outside of curriculum expenditure to enable learners to access the learning more effectively at home.

Clothing

Purchase of dress code items to give the student a sense of pride in their academy and able to conform to the academy dress code policy.

Food and travel allowance

Used if disruption to income flow is evidenced and could impact attendance to the academy.

In planning our Pupil Premium Strategy, we have drawn on a range of experience, evidence-based research and best practice from across the Harris Federation and the Education Endowment Foundation’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit which found that the most important factor in improving narrowing the disadvantage gap is effective teaching day after day. In class is therefore the most effective strategy in narrowing this gap but our plan also details a range of out of lesson interventions to support students further. Causes and consequences of disadvantage affect all students differently and as such our intervention beyond students’ regular lessons need to be bespoke and targeted. All leaders in this Academy including the Governors are committed to ensuring the Pupil Premium funding is targeted to provide the best possible outcomes to students that may be at a disadvantage.

The Academy Leadership Team will:

• Assume overall responsibility for delivering the academy’s Pupil Premium Plan
• Ensure that the SENCO is kept informed of any requirements promptly to action expenditure.
• Promote the importance of narrowing gaps throughout the academy.
• Provide opportunities for staff training about narrowing the gap.
• Ensure strategic deployment of Pupil Premium funding.
• Track the attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour of all Pupil Premium students.
• Provide regular analysis of attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour data.
• Coordinate appropriate intervention strategies to address gaps in attainment, progress attendance and behaviour.
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of all intervention strategies.
• Ensure that the academy’s curriculum is structured around powerful knowledge and provides meaningful opportunities for promoting the academy ethos, employability skills and enhances cultural capital.

Governors will:

• Challenge the Academy Leadership Team about the progress and attainment of Pupil Premium students, particularly in relation to their peers.
• Challenge the implementation of the Pupil Premium Plan.
• Hold the Academy Leadership Team to account for how Pupil Premium funding has been spent and its impact.

Subject Leaders will:

• Monitor and analyse the attainment and progress of all students, including Pupil Premium students.
• Implement effective intervention strategies to address academic underperformance
• Ensure that the SENCO is kept informed of any requirements promptly to action expenditure through the line management system.
• Routinely reinforce the importance of maximising Pupil Premium performance with their teams Teachers:
• Effectively utilise attainment and progress data to plan effective lessons which enable all pupils to make good progress.
• Ensure teaching is at least good, utilising Quality first teaching strategies.
• Use lessons to target support for disadvantaged students to support them in making good progress.
• Ensure literacy and numeracy are embedded in all lessons.
• Track and monitor pupils who are below target and ensure timely and appropriate support and intervention is put in place.

Pupil Premium Expenditure 2023/24:

This academic Year Harris Aspire has 17 Pupil Premium students on roll.  Expenditure is adjusted accordingly for length of time on roll. In some cases, expenditure exceeds the Pupil Premium funding and the additional expenditure is sourced from central funding or commissioning schools: