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Pupil Premium

This statement details our school’s use of pupil premium (and recovery premium for the 2022 to 2023 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.

School Overview
 

Detail

Data

School name

Watercliffe Meadow

Number of pupils in school

496

Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils

55%

Academic year/years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3 year plans are recommended)

2022 - 2025

Date this statement was published

October 2022

Date on which it will be reviewed

September 2023

Statement authorised by

Ian Read

Pupil premium lead

Emma Wayper

Governor / Trustee lead

Vicky Helliwell/ Margaret Anderson

Funding Overview




 

Detail

Amount

Pupil premium funding allocation this academic year

£301,930

Recovery premium funding allocation this academic year

£32,190

Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable)

£0

Total budget for this academic year

If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year

£2,869,291

Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan

Statement of Intent

When considering the allocation of our pupil premium and catch-up funding we have taken into account the context of our school.  There are a range of barriers that prevent disadvantaged pupils from making similar progress or attainment to others including acquisition of language skills, limited parental support, attendance and punctuality and having less life experience than others.

Pupils in receipt of the Pupil Premium Grant may also have special educational needs and as a consequence face multiple-disadvantages. 

At Watercliffe Meadow our aim is for all pupils to enjoy attend school regularly and achieve good progress regardless of educational and socio-economic barriers.

Our ultimate objectives are therefore to ensure a holistic approach for all as follows:

  • All children and their needs are fully understood by well trained staff delivering a Trauma Informed approach. 
  • Attendance remains a high priority; we are committed to working with families to address this.
  • All children make good progress in reading, early reading and a rigorous phonics approach is central to the school.  Children not making progress are precisely identified for high quality intervention. 
  • Barriers to learning for all children must be precisely identified particularly when needs are more complex and multifaceted.  SEND support and family support ensure a holistic approach.  All children should access highly effective quality first teaching alongside purposeful monitoring of approaches and provision. 
  • Ensure parental engagement for disadvantaged children is consistent with non-disadvantaged pupils.
  • Our curriculum aims to develop the whole child, intellectually, physically, emotionally and socially.  We provide opportunities through a wide range of activities both in and beyond the classroom. 

We recognise that not all pupils who qualify for Free School Meals are claiming them, we therefore reserve the right to allocate Pupil Premium Funding to support any pupil or groups of pupils that we have legitimately identified as being socially disadvantaged.

We will know we have been successful when attendance and engagement of PP children is high and as a result progress is good and the gap between PP children and non-PP children is significantly lower. 

Intended Outcomes

  • Instil a love of reading across the school with additional focus on disadvantaged pupils.
  • Employ additional staffing (classroom and non-classroom based) to provide opportunities for working in smaller groups or for catch up and keep up activities, as well as staff to support the wider needs of the identified pupils and their families.
  • To provide support through interventions to improve or consolidate progress and attainment for disadvantaged pupils.
  • Attendance has the highest priority with a clear action plan, rigorous monitoring and supportive or parents/carers.

To provide opportunities to experience a broad range of activities from sports, arts and music to residentials and visits.

Challenges

This details the key challenges to achievement that we have identified amongst our disadvantaged pupils.

Challenge number

Detail of challenge

1.

Trauma Informed Approach

Almost 20% of our pupils have experienced 3 or more ‘adverse childhood experiences’, this figure rises as children move through school.  Without the strong relational practice in a safe and nurturing environment, learning couldn’t take place for many of our pupils.  Engagement in learning takes place because addressing children’s emotional needs is fundamental to enabling this to happen on a daily basis.

2.

Attendance

Attendance across school is below target, a growing number of families are needing support with this and punctuality, particularly disadvantaged children.  Without support this will have a significant impact on learning and progress. 

3.

Reading / Phonics

There is evidence that children have fallen behind in reading, KS1 data shows this, particularly the disadvantaged. There is a need to accelerate progress in early reading to close this gap. 

4.

 

Multi-Faceted Approach to Barriers to Learning

A high number of pupil premium pupils in each cohort, have an additional vulnerability, we identify these as our multi-faceted needs children. These include low levels of language development, EAL, SEND, SEMH needs, safeguarding concerns and chaotic family life. This leads to a greater requirement for more personalised support for learning and pastoral needs.

Detailed analysis of disadvantaged and multifaceted needs to identify barriers to learning and what is hindering progress and then identify the correct intervention/action needed. 

Children’s barriers to learning are identified and acted upon by placing children on the correct pathway (SEN, S&L, attendance, parental engagement.)  As a result, the attainment gap closes and progress is rapid.  Early intervention (S&L, learning mentor support, TISUK strategies) Boxall profile analysis and a golden model approach means that unless the need is complex the barriers are identified and addressed and progress is in line by the end of Year 2.

5.

Parental Engagement

Parental engagement is not consistent across school, again particularly amongst disadvantaged children.  A growing number of families are experiencing financial hardship. 

6.

Development of the Whole Child

Our curriculum aims to develop the whole child, intellectually, physically, emotionally and socially.  We provide opportunities through a wide range of activities both in and beyond the classroom.  We encourage children to seek their own interests, gifts and talents through the experiences we deliberately provide for them.

Intended outcomes

This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.

Intended outcome

Success criteria

Challenge 1:

Trauma Informed Approach

  • All staff continue to develop their relational practice through individualised appraisal targets.
  • Boxall Profiles are completed and analysed twice a year to identify interventions and progress.
  • ACEs are recorded on class profiles and support is identified through PPMs.

Challenge 2:

Attendance

  • Attendance of Pupil Premium pupils continues to improve with the vast majority of pupils achieving good attendance overall.
  • Pupil premium pupils (as well as all pupils) are supported in a very timely way when a problem is identified through monitoring.
  • Attendance in each year will take an upward trajectory
  • Through precise identification and targeting, there will have been a significant reduction in the % of pupil premium pupils (as well as all pupils) who are Persistent Absentees.

Challenge 3: Reading/Phonics

  • Reading attainment and progress across school improves year on year and is at least in line with the National average, particularly amongst PP children.  Rigorous monitoring of delivery of RWI ensures good reading progress across KS1.
  • Any children not making this progress are identified for intervention.
  • The vast majority of pupils, other than those cognitively unable or unready, reach the expected standard in Phonics by the end of Y1 (Phonics Screening) or through catch up in Y2.
  • The vast majority of pupils, other than those cognitively unable or unready, achieve the expected standard in reading before entering KS2.

Challenge 4:

Multi-Faceted Approach to Barriers to Learning

 

  • Quality first teaching and the use of interventions is consistently good or better, evidenced through pupil outcomes in data, pupil discussions and outcomes in books.
  • Any PP child falling behind is identified quickly as a result of rigorous tracking and monitoring and this information is used to inform subsequent provision and intervention.
  • As a result of quality first teaching and effective use of precisely targeted interventions, targets are met for all pupil premium pupils across school

Challenge 5:

Parental Engagement

  • Parents are engaged in their child’s learning both in school and at home.
  • Parents in early years are engaged in their child’s readiness for school.
  • Vulnerable families engage in the support offered to them in school and with outside agencies.
  • There are a range of opportunities for families to engage with school beyond their own child. 

Challenge 6: Development of the whole child

  • Wider curriculum opportunities are provided in sports, art and music.
  • Children’s University opportunities are provided outside of school hours.
  • All children have the opportunity to take part in a residential in Y2-Y6.

Activity in this academic year

This details how we intend to spend our pupil premium (and recovery premium funding) this academic year to address the challenges listed above.

Teaching (for example, CPD, recruitment and retention)

Budgeted cost: £55, 704

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

  • All staff have a clear knowledge of who their PP pupils are and MFN children.
  • Regular progress monitoring and termly assessment.
  • Speech and language assessment and support package.
  • Use of Birmingham toolkit supported by SENCo.
  • Monitoring means that each year group is supported by English, maths and curriculum leads at some point during the academic year.
  • Focus on quality first teaching for all.
  • Additional teacher in each year group.
  • RWI sessions daily across FS and KS1 with groups assessed every 6 weeks.
  • Reading leader is head of school making regular reading visits to lessons.
  • Regular monitoring from subject leads.  Whole school detailed monitoring plan and appraisal system ensure that each year group receive monitoring and support for reading, writing, maths and curriculum each year.
  • We also have a focus on attendance and punctuality in order to get children in school and on time.  Daily tracking, monitoring, phone calls and home visits as well as breakfast club incentives all assist in making sure these children are in school.
  • Whole school Trauma informed approach and 4 trained members of SLT to implement this.
  • Whole school reading for pleasure project.
  • All children are Boxall profiled twice a year.  These are analysed to allocate learning mentor interventions but also to give each teacher whole class strategies to use as part of their practice and to plan into whole class circle times.

Internal data and monitoring outcomes

Oral Language Intervention and small group intervention

1 multi faceted needs children

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

Budgeted cost: £129, 458

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

  • Small group one to one and tutoring support from support staff throughout year for catch up.
  • PP pupils are targeted within Pupil Progress Meetings for the sessions.
  • Rapid intervention sessions will also provide opportunities to teach and reinforce retrieval practice skills.
  • Regular ACE screening and analysis of Boxall profiles to identify learning mentor support and interventions.
  • Additional teacher across each year group
  • Y2 team additionally staffed to allow for smaller classes and targeted groups.
  • Y6 tuition through the NTP scheme.
  • Fresh Start intervention across Y5 and Y6.

EEF Toolkit: Oral Language Intervention and small group intervention

EEF Toolkit: Digital Technology and Homework

EEF: Extending School Time

EEF: Small Group Intervention

EEF: Digital Technology

1 multi faceted needs children

2

Reading progress

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

Budgeted cost: £117, 692

Activity

Evidence that supports this approach

Challenge number(s) addressed

Embed and enhance the use of TISUK across school impacting on pupils through staff having a shared understanding ACES and their impact, the brain – development and responses, regulation and dysregulation and the importance of empathy and connection.

Use of Zones of Regulation work with individuals

 

Internal data and monitoring outcomes TISUK

EEF Toolkit: Social and Emotional Learning

1,3,4

Re-establish full systems for monitoring and managing attendance, with a particular focus on PAs.

Daily monitoring of PP pupils struggling with attendance, using individual family action plans when required/internal red lists

Identify families for targeted parenting groups

 Access to free breakfast club provision for all to support attendance and wellbeing.

See attendance implementation plan.

Internal data and monitoring outcomes Data analysis

3,4

Work with identified families to support and sign post when required, including support through MAST, MHST, parenting etc.

Run a range of parental workshops understanding the importance of attendance, supporting understanding of phonics and early reading and essential skills support for Maths.

Targeted parental programmes linked to behaviour, attendance and SEND.

EEF Toolkit: Engaging and Supporting Parents

4

Total budgeted cost: £302, 854

 

Part B: Review of outcomes in the previous academic year

Pupil premium strategy outcomes

This details the impact that our pupil premium activity had on pupils in the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

Key Stage 2 Outcomes 2022-23

 

Reading (Expected+)

Writing

(Expected+)

Maths

(Expected+)

Combined

National

73%

71%

73%

59%

School

72%

64%

67%

55%

Pupil Premium

69%

64%

62%

51%

Non-Pupil Premium

75%

62%

72%

59%

Analysis:

Overall, in writing, there is still a gap between national and school outcomes. In writing, PP children attained slightly better than non-PP children. In reading there is still a gap between PP and non-PP. Of those PP children who did not attain expected levels 100% had either low attainment at KS1, below 90% attendance, were on the SEND register or were registered as EAL. 60% of these children had 2 or more of these factors.

33% had attendance less than 90%; 58% had KS1 data either WTS or PK, 25% had EAL and 58% were on the SEND register. In maths, there is a gap between PP and non-PP attainment. Of those PP children who did not attain expected levels 93% had either low attain at KS1, below 90% attendance, were on the SEND register or were registered as EAL; out of these children 79% had 2 or more of these factors.

 

Key Stage 1 Outcomes 2022-23

 

Reading (Expected+)

Writing

(Expected+)

Maths

(Expected+)

Y1 Phonics Screening Check

National

69%

61%

72%

81%

School

53%

52%

62%

88%

Pupil Premium

42%

39%

55%

%

Non-Pupil Premium

66%

69%

72%

%

Analysis:

There is a gap in reading between PP and non-PP attainment. In reading, of those PP children who did not attain expected levels 100% had either below 90% attendance, were on the SEND register or were registered as EAL. Of those children 36% had 2 or more of these factors.

There is a gap in writing between PP and non-PP.  In writing, 100% had either below 90% attendance, were on the SEND register or were registered as EAL. Of those, 25% had 2 or more of those factors. There is a gap in maths attainment between PP and non-PP children. Of those PP children who did not attain expected levels 100% had either below 90% attendance, were on the SEND register or were registered as EAL. Of those children 40% had 2 or more of these factors.

 

Challenges

Summary of outcomes

Challenge 1:

Trauma Informed Approach

School has continued to move forward with work on a trauma informed approach.  We are the first mainstream school in Sheffield to receive the TISUK award in September 2023.  It remains a key strand in staff appraisals.

  • From Boxall Profile analysis 45 pupils were identified and received a range of support and intervention.  Of these pupil 55% were pupil premium children.
  • 9 of these children were nursery children. 
  • Depending on need the children were either assessed using theraplay smart targets, ELSA assessment or the Boxall profile.  All children showed some improvement from their entry to exit assessment. 

Challenge 2:

Attendance

Improving attendance has been a key focus for SLT this year.  Half termly strategic meetings analyse all pupils across school with attendance below 90% and from this a ‘red list’ of pupils is identified where attendance is sporadic and deemed to be not simply genuine illness.

The red list of pupils is tracked daily with follow up phone calls and home visits when appropriate.  The red list is revised each half term and improvements or dips of attendance are tracked.

  • In 2022-23 our overall school attendance was 91.7%.  Statement about how this compares to the local and national picture.
  • Attendance of children in receipt of pupil premium was 90.8% and 92.9% for non PP children. Statement about how this compares to non-PP and the local/national picture.
  • By the end of the year our red list had 75 pupils whose attendance was below 90% (average 87.4%).  Of those 49 were pupil premium (average 87.2%).
  • During the course of the year pupil premium children on our red list improved their attendance by 0.9%.
  • At the end of the autumn term there were 46 pupils whose attendance was below 80%, this had reduced to 30 pupils by the end of the year.  There were 79 pupils whose attendance was below 85% at the end of the autumn term and 69 by the end of the year.

Challenge 3: Reading/Phonics

  • At KS2 pupil premium children were 4% below non-PP children but overall, the school was 1% below national in reading.
  • At KS1 the difference between PP and non-PP children was 11%.  The gap to national was significantly below by 16%.  However, this cohort has a particularly high proportion of SEND high needs pupils and as a year group had the poorest attendance across school.  The barriers to progress and attainment are significant with this cohort of pupils.  This is despite a highly skilled teacher tutoring targeted children throughout the year.
  • Progress in phonics was strong across KS1 with 80% of pupil premium children passing the PSC.  Overall, the school was 7% above national in 2023.
  • 22 pupils in Y2 had to retake the PSC, 14 of these pupils were PP,  54% of these pupils in Y2 passed the PSC by the end of the year.  50% of PP children passed the PSC by the end of Y2.
  • Reading for pleasure continues to gain momentum as children move through school with an increasing number of targeted children finding authors and books that they enjoy reading.
  • Reading fluency has been a key focus in monitoring during 2022-23 with the school taking part in the EEF pilot fluency project being a particular success that has informed practice.

Challenge 4:

Multi-Faceted Approach to Barriers to Learning

 

  • The focus of monitoring and support for reading during 2022-23 has been reading for pleasure, improving fluency and moving into developing reading comprehension. Each year group had a half term with this as the single focus for reading lessons with year group classes divided into 2 or 3 groups each working with age appropriate texts. This improved both reading fluency and comprehension across all classes with data showing that each class performed better on standardised comprehension tests than at the same time last year, and also better than the previous class in that year group. The biggest impact on these results were the children whose attainment was below age related expectations, many of whom were PP pupils. Reading volunteers were trained in aspects of developing fluency and worked with targeted children on a regular basis. Reading for pleasure was developed with a focus on teacher knowledge of children’s books, reading aloud and independent reading. Targeted pupils were selected in each class and progress was monitored termly. By the end of the spring term, 48% of these pupils had shown a noticeable improvement in their enjoyment of reading. By the end of the summer term, another 15% had shown greater engagement.
  • The focus of monitoring and support for writing during 2022-2023 has been reviewing and updating long-term and medium-term planning to ensure a balanced and progressive whole school writing curriculum with a focus on the teaching sequence and opportunities for spoken language. In addition to this, ensuring that staff were deployed and fully utilised to support children with the writing process. Children are more familiar with WAGOLLs so they know what the end point (outcome) of a piece of writing should look like. Teaching Assistants are directed to support children within classes to ensure more are able to attain at an age-related level, with sentence construction, handwriting, spelling and the editing process.
  • The focus of monitoring and support for maths during 2022 - 2023 has been the use of consistent mathematical vocabulary throughout school from F2 to Y6.  This is to ensure that all children get given the same language throughout maths lessons and to help ensure children are not confused by any change in vocabulary.   Each year group had a half term with this focus. Use of sentence stems to ensure consistency was effective as when observing it was clear that children were using the same sentences between year groups and classes.  Teaching Assistants are directed to support children within classes and same day intervention and gap filling interventions are provided in the afternoons.  Fluency skills are building year on year with children having a clear understanding of which times tables they need to learn and what they are working on.  This is shown by the number of children being more successful with this earlier in each year growing year on year.
  • We assess every child in school using the Boxall Profile twice each year.  This is used to assess social and emotional aptitudes.  This is used to inform weekly circle times and also learning mentor intervention.  Interventions include ELSA, feelings, zones of regulation, assertiveness, friendship groups, Theraplay, Lego therapy, big empathy drawings and sand play.

Challenge 5:

Parental Engagement

  • Over the course of the year 92% of parents attended our 3 parent evenings.  This was fairly evenly achieved across school demonstrating a sustained engagement and interest in their child’s learning journey.
  • Our series of 5 Nursery workshops were attended by 24 families, 52% of the cohort.  These workshops were designed to help parents support their children on their journey through school and include themes around healthy eating, bedtime routines, language development, play and setting boundaries in the family home and what that looks like in school.
  • 12 families were part of the Families and Schools Together Programme held over 6 weeks in the summer term.
  • 4 families took part in a pilot parenting programme following a trauma informed approach.
  • From our initial nursery home visits 25 families were identified on support pathways with our family support worker. By building relationships from the start, making ourselves available for concerns by having a family support worker around on the door, or in the Cabin, twice a week, we are able to prevent escalation of issues from early identification and intervention, prioritising the needs of the families.
  • 60 families have engaged with additional support offered by the school, these are in addition to the nursery families supported.

Challenge 6: Development of the whole child

  • 215 pupils were given wider curriculum opportunities through sports and music partnerships.  138 of these pupils were pupil premium.
  • These activities included, Young Voices, basketball, B-Braun Dance, football, athletics, Archer’s Partnership Games, colour smash.
  • 176 pupils participated in out of school wider curriculum opportunities. 121 of these were pupil premium children.
  • 220 children took part in a residential from Y2-Y6. 124 of these were pupil premium.
  • Additionally, 8 children took part in a residential out of term time.
  • We have 7 children on a continued Music Pathway of which 2 are pupil premium.