In 2013-14 the Pupil Premium was used to support the learning of all vulnerable students in the following ways

External Consultancy

The school will continue to use the services of School Improvement Associates (SIA) to focus on strategies for improving progress, raising attainment and closing the gap for PP students. The Consultancy is run by and employs advisors with significant experience in teaching, school leadership and school improvement work. Subject specialists spent a day with each Curriculum Area, with follow up visits where required. Both Staff and Governor Training will run again this year by the Consultancy as part of the school’s Training programme

Additional staffing costs

The two associate Assistant Headteacher roles have come to an end, but these have been replaced by an Assistant Headteacher whose role on the Senior Leadership Team is to be responsible for the attainment and Progress of Pupil Premium students and the monitoring and evaluation of the strategies in place to support them. In this she is supported by a KS4 Pupil Premium Learning mentor and a KS3 Pupil Premium Learning mentor.

An outside company, Skills Force, who are part of the Prince’s Trust has been engaged this year to run the Motivation project for small groups of students in Years 7, 8 and 9.  The ‘motivation groups’ are identified as both under-achieving students and those who need to build their self-esteem and resilience.

The Breakfast Club Co-ordinator role was been continued to run Breakfast clubs in Maths and English throughout the year for Year 8s who were identified as being below expected levels in either or both subjects. The Breakfast Club Co-coordinator will now also monitor the Children’s University. Contracts were renewed for a further year for the two HLTAs in English who work with Pupil Premium students and other targeted vulnerable students on reading intervention schemes. Mathematics has continued to be funded with an additional member of staff, a member of staff one day a week and an HLTA to support vulnerable students. The work with the Nurture and Breakthrough groups will continue as will 1 to1 tuition and Saturday Schools. The contract with the ex-Connexions advisor employed directly by the school to interview every Pupil Premium student regarding careers and those students vulnerable regarding possibly becoming NEETS has been renewed as has the additional, part-time CP Officer to support our most vulnerable students.

A team of Year 12 students to mentor again this year will be assembled in early October 2014.

Cost of resources

This year every Pupil Premium student in Year 11 will have a revision books package purchased for them (personalised for every subject they are taking at GCSE) to work with both at home and with their tutor in Lesson 5.

A uniform Bursary of up to £50 has been offered to the family of every Pupil Premium student in the school to be spent both in the school shop and online.

To continue the school’s focus on literacy and reading two reading books (appropriate for age, gender and reading level) was purchased and given to all Year 6 transition students to be read over the summer and worked on in the first half term in their English lessons

Curriculum Areas will be invited to bid for resources for their Pupil Premium students.

Emergency ‘crisis’ support for individual students (this includes travel costs, laptops, uniform, support for various activities) will continue as will resourcing for the Year 8 Breakfast clubs in Maths and English with appropriate materials and Forest Learning for our Year 7 groups who require additional intervention

A Motivational and rewards package to support Year 11s, with additional rewards for Pupil Premium students will continue as will on-line Mathematics packages.