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Pupil Premium

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What is Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers.

Pupil premium funding is available to:

  • local-authority-maintained schools, including:
    • special schools (for children with special educational needs or disabilities)
    • pupil referral units (PRUs - for children who can’t go to a mainstream school)
  • academies and free schools, including
    • special academies (for children with special educational needs or disabilities)
    • alternative provision (AP) academies (for children who can’t go to a mainstream school)
  • voluntary-sector alternative provision (AP), with local authority agreement
  • non-maintained special schools (NMSS - schools for children with special educational needs that the Secretary of State for Education has approved under section 342 of the Education Act 1996)

 

Pupil Premium grant – 2022/23

Our allocation for 2021-22 is £556,360.  

Our allocation for 2022-23 is £614,640

As of September 2022, 44% of our cohort were eligible for the pupil premium grant.

The pupil premium allocation for 2022 to 2023 will include pupils recorded in the January 2020 school census who are known to have been eligible for FSM since May 2016, as well as those first known to be eligible at January 2020. Schools receive:

  • £985 per student for each Ever 6 FSM FTE in year groups 7 to 11, except where the student is allocated the LAC or post-LAC Premium
  • £2,410 per student for each post-LAC in year groups reception to year 11
  • £320 for each student aged 4 and over in year groups reception to year 11 who is either Ever 6 service child FTE or in receipt of pensions under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS)

 

Parents: If your child has been adopted from care on or after 30 December 2005, left care under a Special Guardianship Order on or after 30 December 2005, has a Residence Order on or after 14 October 1991, please let us know.  The information will be treated in strictest confidence but will enable us to provide more for your child. 

Pupil Premium at Babington – our values and ethos

Closing the gap is central to everything we do at Babington.  We have a moral commitment to ensure that our students from disadvantaged backgrounds have the support to accelerate their progress to achieve their full potential.  

In January 2021, DFE Advisor for Pupil Premium, Dr Carter Wall led a Pupil Premium Review. The report was extremely positive and stated,

“There is a clear policy and strategy for pupil premium - solution focused - demonstrating a deep understanding of what it means to be disadvantaged.  It follows DfE direction and meets Ofsted requirements fully.”

“Disadvantaged able students are championed.  They are set ambitious attainment targets and taught with demanding academic challenge.  They are supported exceptionally well to understand their potential, to be aspirant with purpose and signposted access to the experiences and contacts those from more advantaged homes would have.  Emotional and social support is also prioritised.” Dr Carter- Wall, 2021.

In 2022 42% of PP students achieved a 4+ in both English and Maths which is an 8% increase from 2019, the last examinations to take place. 21% of PP students achieved a 5+ in both English and Maths – a 1% increase from 2019.

Our Principal was designated a Specialist Leader in Education in May 2017 with a primary focus upon closing gaps. An additional Vice Principal was appointed in June 2022 undertake the provision of individual strategies for students addressing the individual needs of students and parents/carers. Secondly, an additional Assistant Principal was appointed in August 2022 to have responsibility for Pupil Premium to further develop the monitoring and tracking of progress of PP students and maximise the impact of the funding to diminish differences. New evaluation procedures have been introduced to more closely evaluate the impact of the PP spend so that we can target the money most effectively on the more successful strategies. The projected spend for 2022-23 focuses on three key priorities as per the DFE guidance: teaching and learning, targeted academic support and wider strategies.

  1. Teaching and Learning

Outstanding first wave teaching through a broad and balanced curriculum is at the core of our PP provision.  Our curriculum is well planned and progressive and seeks to build on the prior knowledge of students, make links and develop their understanding in all areas of their learning whilst addressing the knowledge gaps students may join us with, given the wide range of different starting points our students have from our many feeder schools. Core subjects have had further staff appointments to support our most vulnerable students.

Staff understand the importance of and take responsibility for planning and delivering strategies to close gaps in lessons. Personalised learning checklists have been rolled out to all students across the academy and all students have Personalised Learning on their timetable. PLCs allow PP students to take ownership of their revision by clearly being able to identify the gaps in their skills and knowledge in each subject. This then allows subject teachers to make their revision bespoke to the needs of their PP students. PLCs also allow teachers to tailor lessons to fill in gaps in knowledge. Robust quality assurance is used to inform targeted coaching and bespoke CPD, to ensure outstanding first wave teaching for all PP students.

Staff have context booklets that are informed by Go4Schools data for each group which include detailed information about the strategies they will use in the classroom to close the gap.  Our whole school CPD programme, focused upon sharing principles and strategies which are driven by research about cognitive education/thinking skills and which can be applied to all contexts, gives further support to our drive to close the gap. 

Each department has their own feedback policy based on the IPASS principles which aims to provide outstanding feedback to all pupils. Teachers enrolled in a bespoke CPD programme where they are trained in meta-cognition strategies and how to use these in lessons. Departments have some autonomy over their CPD and some of these tailored strategies include AQA training for the Maths and English teams, subscriptions to the Historical Association and Geographical Association which includes CPD courses as well as subscription to the National College.

  1. Targeted Academic Support

Targeted academic support is provided for our Pupil Premium students to ensure that all have the opportunity to reach their full potential. We have added to our outstanding English, Maths and Geography Tutors to further support students to plug gaps in their knowledge and take ownership over their learning.

Revision Bootcamps for KS4 will be back up and running this year, where students are taken off site after school to be develop strategies to help them regulate their home-learning through intense study sessions where a range of revision techniques will be modelled. This was one of the tools used pre-pandemic to improve PP outcomes.

Since November 2019, targeted SEND PP students have been receiving speech and language therapy, bespoke to their needs, from qualified speech and language therapist, Megan Clark from Speech Bubble Ltd. Students’ progress is tracked and monitored regularly. Anecdotal feedback from students and parents has been very positive. Other support in place for these students includes 1-2-1 sessions with students and small group work students SEMH. We have a bespoke mentoring programme for students with ADHD to provide them with coping strategies and to modify their behaviour for learning. A new group to be launched this year is the ‘Preparation for Adulthood’ group where students will access the community once a week aiming at improving levels of emotional and sensory regulation. 

Our most able PP students will be supported by the appointment of a MAG&T coordinator to oversee the progress and attainment of these students. They have been enroled onto High Flyers lectures along with peers from across the MAT to hear experts from a range of careers. Following the success of the Mandarin lessons last year, these live lessons from Beijing will be continued this year. 12 new MAG&T students will take part in the Brilliant Club’s Scholars Programme.

To develop our students Literacy skills, we have introduced new initiatives such as ‘Feed and Read Stations’, an outdoor library and more author visits. This will continue to build upon the developing culture of reading for pleasure within school. Students will once again be gifted a book at Christmas and Year 7 students will be gifted a book upon arrival to embed them within our culture of reading for pleasure. ‘First Story’ is a project delivered by a ‘Write-in-Residence’ who are talented and experienced authors, poets and playwrights. As well as facilitating 16 weeks of workshops, editing the First Story group’s anthology and closely supporting the lead teacher, the writer is visible and inspiring role-model, boosting the profile of creative writing around the academy.

The ‘Reading with families’ project continues this year which aims to engage parents and carers to come and become more engaged in reading, to see the benefits of reading and to equip parents and carers with the skills to support students reading at home so the volume are student reading increases. ‘Reading with Families’ offers the chance for parents and children to read together and receive free book gifts provided by Penguin Books.

To develop Numeracy skills in our students, signposts will be installed this year to aid with getting around site, but also to give them real world use of numeracy skills in day to day life. The signposts will not only bring a flash of colour but also distances and times to get to each school area. All classrooms will be kitted out with place value columns as well as a ‘Number of the day’ board for staff to use to embed Numeracy into every subject.

To help our students transition into the next stage of their life post Babington, we have a number of careers programmes and project running to make this transition as smooth as possible. Firstly, Year 10 work experience last year had the highest number of students out on a work placement to date. We are looking to develop this successful programme even further this year. Secondly, to continue the Year 10 sector workshops to deliver an in-house careers roadshow to develop student’s self-esteem and confidence to prepare them for the working world.

‘Together with Parents’ will be funded which aims to engage parents in helping their children to improve their Maths, English and Science outcomes. This project is expanding to hit targeted students in year 7 through 10. Once families and finished each session, they will have the opportunity to sit down and have a hot meal with other families as well as staff.

  1. Wider Strategies

The final priority is to remove all barriers to progress. There are two strands within our wider strategies. The first strand focuses on ensuring students are ready to learn. The hunger barrier is removed through our mission to provide a free breakfast for all who need it. We have secured a partnership with the National Schools Breakfast Programme until 2023. The NSBP provide bagels and cereal so that we are able to offer both a ‘grab and go’ breakfast at the gate as well as a sit-down breakfast in the canteen. Passport to Success subsidises uniform and equipment where students have none. We have seen unprecedented need for this since the pandemic. Furthermore, we have a range of strategies to address students’ mental health needs. We have a strong mental health team including a mental health champion, mental health first aiders and as well as Mental Health CPD for all staff. In addition, we offer art therapy, music therapy, and boxing and have a visiting therapy dog, Alice.

The second strand is to provide students with opportunities to participate in activities and events that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. These include gallery and museum visits, a variety of sporting opportunities and a Religious Education Residential to Rome. The French trip is will be back up and running where students will have the opportunity to practise their French with fluent speakers, maybe ordering a baguette or two. Following the huge success of the ‘Babington Band’ last year, we have continued our partnership with the Leicestershire Music Service to ensure all Year 7 students will be provided with a brass, wind or percussion instrument and have a timetabled music band lesson, supported by peripatetic instrumental lessons. Year 8 students will have the opportunity to continue to learn their instrument as well as continue with peripatetic instrumental lessons.

‘8BillionIdeas’ is a newly introduced initiative which aims to reinforce the curriculum and build upon students’ knowledge, so students can understand their subject better and have a deeper level of knowledge, skills and understanding. This is all delivered with real world context so students can make connections with topics in different lesson to real world problems. Students are guided through the process with their tutors which builds stronger relationships.

The Dare to Dream enrichment programme is continuing this year following last years relaunched. The opportunities on offer to attend are a range of sports clubs, Skateboarding, Knitting, Amnesty International, Quidditch, Golf, Forest Watch, School Magazine, Drama sessions with Curve Theatre, Kaleidoscope (a group celebrating diversity). The ‘Moving Together Awards’ is a Dare to Dream activity where students will spend two and half hours a week with specialist dance teachers to produce a portfolio of work both practical and theory based.

Our looked after PP students will have access to Taiko Drumming which has been shown to reduce stress, improve mental health as well as increasing overall wellbeing. The project intends to support social and educational developments due to the focus on discipline, teamwork and musicianship. The students will also be re-enrolled into the ‘Letterbox Club’ where they will receive parcels promoting reading at home as well playing games with each other.

Where students gain for developing their Babington DNA and displaying our PROUD characteristics, staff award students’ PROUD points. They will now be able to spend these at the PROUD Point Rewards a Shop, where they get a new fountain pen or a packet of cookies or save up their points for a bigger reward, such as Beats headphones or a Kindle Fire tablet!

‘Getting the best out of boys’ programme will be used to mentor an identified group of boys to achieve agreed behaviour targets, improving the outcomes of this group. Alongside this an education coach from Leicester City FC will be working with a cohort of students who are at risk of becoming disengaged.

Our GCSE Geography cohort will travel to Sherringham to carry out coastal field work as well visit Leicester City Centre. These cultural experiences is where students get to see a different side to the city as well as learning transferable employment skills such as engaging with the general public while collecting data. Our GCSE History students will complete a ‘Doctors Show’ revision trip. They will be taking through a revision performance for the ‘Medicine through Time’ course – worth 30% of their GCSE.

In addition to these whole school strategies, we have countless strategies/initiatives in place to ensure each of our students receive what ‘they’ need to overcome barriers and succeed. 

Impact of the Pupil Premium grant at Babington

2022 Impact:

Pupil Premium Analysis

Year

% Babington PP students 5+ in English AND Maths

% PP students national achieving a 5+ in English AND Maths

% Babington PP students who achieved a 4+ in English AND Maths 

% PP students national achieving a 4+ in English AND Maths

2022

21% (+1% from 2019 results)

Data not available yet

42% (+8% from 2019 results)

Data not available yet

2021

30%

25% (2019)

NPP: 49.9% (2019)

56%

44% (2019)

NPP: 68% (2019)

 2020

27%

25% (2019)

NPP: 49.9% (2019)

47%

44% (2019)

NPP: 68% (2019)

2019

20%

25% (2019)

NPP: 49.9% (2019)

34%

44%

NPP: 68% (2019)

 

Table 1.

Table 1 shows that the % of students achieving both English and Maths at a Standard and Strong Pass.