Pupil Premium

Please read the information below which gives details of our Pupil Premium Grant, Covid Catch-Up Premium and School-Led Tutoring and how we allocate the funding.

Mrs Gibbs is responsible for Pupil Premium and can be contacted on Head@margaretwix.herts.sch.uk

As part of our continued commitment to raise and accelerate the attainment and progress of all children, we will be providing extra small group and individual targeted tuition for our Pupil Premium children. We will meet with teachers termly to discuss the progress and attainment of all Pupil Premium children, set challenging targets and map out a programme of support for these children.

Targeted Tuition will be planned and tailored towards the needs of individual children and groups. We hope to promote social and emotional skills as well as Maths and English.

Pupil premium is allocated to schools to help to address underlying inequalities between disadvantaged children and their peers and ultimately reduce the attainment gap between them.  The needs of disadvantaged children are mapped by senior leaders and their attainment and progress are carefully tracked to evaluate the impact of the pupil premium funding.

During the pandemic, leaders have maintained a high level of communication with families eligible for pupil premium funding, to ensure disadvantaged children continue to receive the support they need and are effectively safeguarded.  During the first lockdown, all disadvantaged pupils were invited to attend the key worker care provision which ran for the entire duration of lockdown. Financial assistance for transport to and from school was provided where necessary and children without access to remote learning were provided with tablet devices. Families were offered the option of a packed lunch each day or the equivalent value of supermarket vouchers. This support will continue for the duration of the pandemic.

Research led by the Sutton Trust informs our decisions on how to allocate pupil premium funding to ensure maximum impact on our disadvantaged pupils. The strategy will be reviewed to analyse effectiveness and make changes where necessary. 

The main barriers to educational achievement faced by pupils eligible for pupil premium funding include:

* speech, language and communication  skills. 

* additional vulnerabilities such as special educational needs or having english as an additional language. 

* social and emotional difficulties. 

* attendance and punctuality. 

* limited access experiences outside of school that widen experience and vocabulary. 

School Led Tutoring

School-Led Tutoring is being introduced as part of the National Tutoring Programme in 2021/22. Eligible state-funded schools and academy trusts will receive a ring-fenced grant to source their own tutoring provision for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who have missed the most education due to Covid-19.

We know tutoring can have a positive impact on pupils' academic progress. Evidence suggests that compared to their peers who do not receive tuition, pupils who receive small group tuition may make, on average, 4 months additional progress and pupils who receive one-to-one may make, on average, 5 months additional progress. This is likely linked to pupils receiving more feedback, being more engaged and completing work tailored to their specific needs.

There are three routes to take advantage of the funding available through the National Tutoring Programme: Route 1 - Tuition Partners; Route 3 - Academic Mentors; School-Led Tutoring.

There is an expectation that schools prioritise disadvantaged or vulnerable pupils for tutoring.

Funding and Payments

At Margaret Wix Primary School, we have decided to pursue School-Led Tutoring. We feel our teachers are best placed to support the children they teach and they are prepared to do so.

Margaret Wix Primary School will receive £3307.50 this Financial Year. The cost is £4405, meaning the school will fund the short-fall. One carefully-chosen teacher - well-known to the children and the head teacher will offer a variety of different small group and one-to-one tutoring in school time and before school across the whole week. Children across a variety of year groups have been identified and these children will be offered one-to-one, small group (2-3) and larger group (6) sessions according to their need. These session will be tailored to their needs and both the teacher and the head teacher who are carrying out the sessions will assess constantly to ensure the needs of the individuals are being met. Each group contains a variety of children who are for the most part, pupil premium. Tutoring will focus on English or Maths fluency - with a priority on addressing gaps in learning and receiving high-quality feedback. These sessions will be completed in 10-week blocks and progress will be reviewed frequently.