The student is at the centre of our approach to closing the gap. We wrap around them as much support as is needed to break down any barriers to learning and ensure they make progress and fulfil their potential. Quality first teaching is essential for students to succeed, it is the lesson by lesson progress that students make that is essential to their final successes in examinations. We will work towards removing any barriers to learning students face such as, poor attendance, weak literacy and numeracy and emotional and behavioural difficulties. Mentors support the most vulnerable students in the Pupil Premium cohort. We typically identify 20-25 students who meet regularly with mentors.
Closing the gap coordinators work closely with heads of department to ensure that classroom teachers are supported and that students’ progress is monitored closely and that strategies are in place in the department to tackle underachievement and remove barriers to learning.
Coaching and one to one support is offered to students in core subjects to address underachievement and remove subject barriers to learning. These take place in class alongside the class teacher or in the curriculum support department.
Good attendance is critical to students’ success. The attendance manager prioritises her workload and interventions to pupil premium students. Working closely with learning managers and pastoral coordinators interventions happen early when signs of worsening attendance arise. The Educational Welfare Officer is involved in relevant cases.
Behaviour support for Pupil Premium students is offered through the Local Inclusion Support Team (LIST) behaviour support team and also in school through the Base internal inclusion centre.
Coordination of Pupil Premium
Portfolio governors role
The Portfolio Governors focus on the allocation of resources and narrowing the attainment gap between disadvantaged and other pupils.
- Understands relevant school pupil performance data that shows progress of different groups over time.
- Becomes familiar with the concept of the pupil premium; what it is, why it has been set in place, how it is allocated, how it Is calculated and which groups of pupils attract the premium.
- Becomes familiar with the school’s pupil premium policy.
- Knows basic pupil premium facts for the school; how many pupils attract the premium, how this figure compares with other local and similar schools, how the money is spent.
- Understands relevant school pupil performance data that shows progress of different groups over time.
- Monitors spending of the pupil premium, ensuring the money is spent identifiable ways to support target groups of pupils.
- Monitors the impact of pupil premium spending on target groups.
- Meets occasionally with the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO) and/or other staff responsible for performance data to discuss issues around underperforming groups including those eligible for the pupil premium.
- Monitors the attainment of different groups of pupils over time to provide evidence of how pupil premium pupils are progressing compared to others in the school and nationally.
- Challenges the allocation of the pupil premium grant if there is no clear audit trail evidencing appropriate use of the resources.
- Takes an active part in any governing body or committee discussions when the allocation and monitoring of the pupil premium is discussed and decided.
- Reports, back to the governing body on the school’s use of the pupil premium.
- Visits the school to find out about pupil premium expenditure and its impact.
- Monitors the Pupil Premium Action Plan.
Deputy headteacher role
- Responsible for the school’s Pupil Premium policy.
- Responsible for the PP budget.
- Establishes and implements PP strategy.
- Monitors performance of PP students.
- Analyse assessment and review data.
- Reports to the governing body on the school’s use of the pupil premium.
- Liaises with Closing the gap coordinator to ensure PP students are supported and making progress.
- Monitor new developments and research into effective use of Pupil Premium spending, eg through EEF toolkit.
Closing the gap coordinator role
- Monitor performance of PP students.
- Identify barriers to learning.
- Liaise with learning guides, learning managers, parents to remove barriers to learning.
- Liaise with coaching/ appropriate staff to coordinate a specific programme of support for students to narrow the gap in attainment.
- Develop enrichment opportunities for PP students to promote engagement & raise aspirations.
- Analyse assessment and review data.
- Coordinate interventions between PP advocates.
- Liaise with Learning Mentors working with PP students to ensure barriers to learning are removed.
Pupil Premium advocate role
- Liaise with Head of Department over future developments/ strategies aimed to ‘Close the Gap’ for PP/FSM/SEN students within subject.
- Analyse assessment and review data relating to PP/SEN/SEN students in subject.
- Track PP/SEN student cohorts against individual targets and liaison with classroom teachers to promote strategies to maximise the progress and attainment of these students.
- Liaise with coaching/ appropriate staff to coordinate a specific programme of support for students to close the gap in attainment in KS4.
- Actively contribute to the development of fully differentiated schemes of work and resources for KS4 incorporating new methods of teaching and learning including approaches to close the gap.
- Liaise with KS3 Co-ordinators to develop strategies and resources to facilitate the smooth transition for PP/SEN students from Year 8 to Year 9.
- Develop enrichment opportunities for PP/SEN students to promote engagement & raise aspirations within the subject.