Pupil Premium Strategy Statement 2023-24 – Molehill Primary Academy

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This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2021 to 2022 academic year) funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged pupils. It outlines our pupil premium strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending of pupil premium had within our school. The total budgeted cost is £238,263.

School overview

School name

Molehill Primary Academy

Number of pupils in school

278

Proportion of disadvantaged pupils

39.2% (109 pupils)

Pupil premium allocation this academic year

£238,263

Academic year/s covered by statement

2022-24

Publish date

September 2023

Review date

January 2024

Statement authorised by

Laura Smith

Pupil premium lead

Natalie Andrews

Governor / Trustee lead

David Elliott

Part A: Pupil Premium Strategy Plan

Statement of Intent

Nationally, there is a strong link between economic disadvantage and poor achievement in schools. Across the country there is a significant gap between the progress made by pupils eligible for free school meals and those who are not eligible. There are many reasons why this gap exists. Pupil Premium is given to schools to help us try to close this gap. It is important because it enables us to counteract the disadvantages that poverty imposes on children. It ensures we can put the support in place to help every child in our school thrive and fully master each stage of the curriculum.

Molehill Primary Academy is a school with a high percentage of students defined as disadvantaged which is significantly above the national average. Both Pupil Premium and non-Pupil Premium students face similar barriers to their educational achievement.

The main barriers that disadvantaged pupils face are outlined below:

Limited opportunities to have literacy and conversational skills developed and extended outside of school.
Lack of access to enrichment activities, resources and support for achieving greater depth outside of the school environment.
Limited opportunities for exploring their community and the wider world.
Parental and community perceptions of the value of education and lack of confidence or experience which can prevent them from engaging with their child’s learning.

Challenges

Detail of Challenge

Lower starting points than their peers in maths, reading and writing.

Oral language skills, particularly in Reception, are lower for pupils eligible for PP than for other pupils.

Financial implications typically affect a child’s access to wider life experiences.

Low attendance rates affect progress and attainment.

Incorrect uniform affects wellbeing and involvement consequently progress and attainment.

Financial implications may reduce the access to key items to maintain good personal hygiene and good nutrition

Intended Outcome

Intended Outcome

Success Criteria

To ensure that the attainment and progress gap between disadvantaged and non disadvantaged, SEN and Non SEN pupils is narrowed. Pupils are given equal opportunities to systematically reach their full potential.

To be in line with or exceed the national average for children achieving a Good Level of Development.

To be in line with or exceed the national average for the expected standard in the Phonics Screening Check.

Children achieving the expected standard and greater depth standard exceeds national averages for disadvantaged children achieving these standards at the end of KS1 assessments.

Children achieving the expected standard and greater depth standard exceeds national averages for disadvantaged children achieving these standards at the end of KS2 assessments.

Progress scores at the end of KS2 are 0 or better.

To ensure that attendance figures remain at least in line with last published national averages.

To identify and implement effective strategies to engage hard to reach families and reduce the proportion of persistent absentees in line with national averages. Each PA pupil has an individual action plan in place.

Attendance for PP pupils will increase and will be broadly in line with the national average of 96%

Persistent absence will decrease and will be either in line with or below the national percentage.

A clear strategy and effective approach to addressing poor attendance is in place. PSM in line managed by the Vice Principal.

Parents will value good attendance and are motivated to ensure their children are in school.

To ensure that all disadvantaged and SEN pupils consistently benefit from opportunity and exposure to our wider curriculum opportunities to develop individual interests and talents. Where this is not the case, strategies are in place to ensure that any barriers to this curriculum are removed. The PPG Expenditure is used to provide a subsidised Breakfast Club and a wide range of free after school clubs.

All PP pupils have access to a broad menu of extra-curricular clubs.

All PP pupils will attend at least three trips or experiences a year.

The number of PP pupils attending extra-curricular clubs will increase.

To continue to provide effective emotional, mental health and wellbeing support.

A clear strategy of support is in place in order to support our most vulnerable pupils.

All staff, but particularly support staff, are trained to support pupils who may present as facing SEMH challenges.

Activity in this academic year

This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium this academic year to address the challenges listed above.

Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

To significantly increase the proportion of effective and highly effective teaching, using a range of resources effectively to support e.g. On Track, CA

Ensuring an effective teacher is in front of every class, and that every teacher is supported to keep improving, is the key ingredient of a successful school and should rightly be a top priority for pupil premium spending. Spending on developing high quality teaching may include investment in professional development, training and support for early career teachers, along with recruitment and retention.

To use digital technology to improve teaching, learning, including home learning, and assessment.

All pupils in Years 1-6 have access to a 1:1 device. Technology is used to help teachers explain and model new concepts and ideas. It supports teachers to model in new ways and provides opportunities to highlight how experts think as well as what they do. It also enables teachers to adapt practice effectively, for example by increasing the challenge of questions as pupils succeed or by providing new contexts in which students are required to apply new skills. We use technology to support retrieval practice and self-quizzing can increase retention of key ideas and knowledge.

To ensure that teachers systematically demonstrate ambition in their planning by:

ensuring work always matched pupils’ needs and abilities
providing suitable challenge, especially for the most able
in mathematics, securing more consistency in the mastery approach.

Ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to make excellent progress by:

Maintaining high expectations for all and adapting curriculum so that all pupils can meet these expectations
Balancing the input of new contents so that pupils master important concepts
Effective use of Learning Support Assistants

To implement effective retrieval practices, expand pupils’ vocabulary, and ensure that all pupils can remember new components of knowledge to use at a later date.

Retrieval practice describes the process of recalling information from memory with little or minimal prompting. Low stakes tests (such as individual questions or quizzes) are often used as methods of retrieval practice as these require pupils to think hard about what information they have retained and can recall.

Cognitive science informs us that memory has a ‘strength’, referring both to how easily something can be recalled and how deeply information is embedded. When content is studied and recalled, both types of memory strength increase, meaning that information is more easily accessible and that this accessibility is more durable.

To ensure that all disadvantaged pupils are given equal opportunities to systematically reach their full potential

Pupils may require targeted academic support to assist language development, literacy, or numeracy. Interventions will be carefully linked to classroom teaching and matched to specific needs, whilst not inhibiting pupils’ access to the curriculum. Disadvantaged pupils with SEND have the greatest need for excellent teaching. Specific approaches to support these pupils may include explicit instruction, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, scaffolding, flexible grouping, and the targeted use of technology.

Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Small Group and One to One support

Evidence consistently shows the positive impact that targeted academic support has, including on those who are not making good progress, or those who have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of the pandemic. Classroom teachers and Learning Support Assistants provide targeted academic support, such as linking structured small group interventions to classroom teaching and the curriculum, pre-teaching and post-teaching specific skills and knowledge.

Reading, Speech and Language and ELSA interventions all embedded and effective at supporting pupils to successfully access the breadth of curriculum

Ensuring targeted pupils have sustained, consistent access to these resources, promoting a love of reading.

Digital Learning – all pupils have access to a 1:1 device. Additional resources such as Lexia, Read and Write and SATs resources

Specific high quality resources enable pupils to make rapid progress.

Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Small Group and One to One support

Reading, Speech and Language and ELSA interventions all embedded and effective at supporting pupils to successfully access the breadth of curriculum

Ensuring targeted pupils have sustained, consistent access to these resources, promoting a love of reading.

Digital Learning – all pupils have access to a 1:1 device. Additional resources such as Lexia, Read and Write and SATs resources

Specific high quality resources enable pupils to make rapid progress.

Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year

teaching priorities for current academic year

Aim

Target

RAG

Impact

To significantly increase the proportion of effective and highly effective teaching, using a range of resources effectively to support e.g. IRIS, On Track, CA

100% Effective, 50% Highly Effective Teaching

September 2023

To use digital technology to improve teaching, learning, including home learning, and assessment through the Digital Learning Strategy.

Digital Level increases

Achieved

To ensure that teachers systematically demonstrate ambition in their planning by:

ensuring work always matched pupils’ needs and abilities
providing suitable challenge, especially for the most able
in mathematics, securing more consistency in the mastery approach.

Learning Walks evidence, pupil outcomes improve, in particular Greater Depth.

Achieved – see Ofsted Report.

To implement effective retrieval practices, expand pupils’ vocabulary, and ensure that all pupils can remember new components of knowledge to use at a later date.

Learning Walks evidence, pupil outcomes improve, in particular Greater Depth.

September 2023

To ensure that all disadvantaged pupils are given equal opportunities to systematically reach their full potential

Eradicating any variations between groups: Disadvantaged, non-disadvantaged pupils with SEND etc.

Achieved and ongoing.

support on disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics - check at end of y1

Measure

Activity

RAG

Impact

Priority 1

Ensure appropriate staff (including new staff) have received highly effective training to deliver the phonics scheme successfully

Achieved and ongoing for new staff.

Priority 2

Ensure highly effective resources continue to be renewed, reviewed and used effectively

Achieved and ongoing.

Barriers to learning these priorities address

Ensuring staff use evidence-based whole-class teaching interventions

Effective management of change to new scheme

Parental Engagement – reading focus

Targeted academic support (for example, tutoring, one-to-one support structured interventions)

Budgeted Cost: £80,634

Measure

Activity

RAG

Impact

Priority 1

Reading, Speech and Language and ELSA interventions all embedded and effective at supporting pupils to successfully access the breadth of curriculum

Continuous improvement and use of EP to ensure ELSA training is up to date.

Priority 2

Digital Learning – all pupils will have access to a 1:1 device. Additional resources such as Lexia, Read and Write and SATs resources enable pupils to make additional progress.

Achieved and ongoing.

Barriers to learning these priorities address

Ensuring targeted pupils have sustained, consistent access to these resources, promoting a love of reading, developing the curriculum further through the Digital Learning Strategy.

Wider strategies (for example, related to attendance, behaviour, wellbeing)

Budgeted Cost: £28,500

Measure

Activity

RAG

Impact

Priority 1

Embedding a wide range of strategies to reduce Persistent Absence, led by the Pastoral Support Manager and Vice Principal

Reduction evident and ongoing improvement.

Priority 2

To ensure that the most disadvantaged and SEN pupils consistently benefit from our wider curriculum opportunities to develop individual interests and talents

Achieved and ongoing.

Barriers to learning these priorities address

Attendance, including Persistent Absence, must reduce significantly.